WEST CALDWELL, N.J.- The Caldwell University women's lacrosse team were paced by seven goal scorers as they held off Holy Family University 18-13 in their Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.
 
The Cougars improve to 1-3 overall and 1-0 in the CACC, while the Tigers fall to 0-3 and 0-2 in conference play.
 
The win marked a milestone for Head Coach Caitlyn McGinley as she notched her first collegiate coaching victory.
 
Holy Family got on the board with two goals early in the game to take a 2-0 lead. Graduate Arden Kassaleh (Pompton Plains, N.J.) put the Cougars on the board with a goal at the 25:41 mark off an assist from senior Samantha Murphy (Pompton Plains, N.J.). Murphy tied the game at 2-2, while Kassaleh netted a goal at the 22:36 mark for a 3-2 lead.
 
Junior Emily Lasko (Jackson, N.J.) netted three unanswered goals to help Caldwell build a 6-3 lead. The Tigers netted a goal to trim the score to 6-4 with 9:11 left in the half. Murphy and senior Jules Wesler (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) tallied goals to push ahead 8-4 late in the half. Holy Family added a goal with 2:06 to play as the Cougars held a 8-5 halftime advantage.
 
Caldwell caught fire to start the second half as Kassaleh and Steelman scored two goals each, while sophomore Kelsey Maxwell (Center Moriches, N.Y.) and senior Marisa Amoresano (Denville, N.J.) each added goals for a 14-5 lead.
 
Maxwell added two goals and Steelman scored one but Holy Family chipped away to cut the score to 17-9 with 8:38 left in the game.
 
The Tigers netted four unanswered goals to close the gap to 17-13 but Murphy scored the final goal with under a minute to play.
 
Maxwell and Murphy each finished with three goals and three assists. Lasko totaled three goals and one assist, while Kassaleh netted four goals. Steelman added three goals, while Amoresano recorded one goal and one assist. Murphy finished with seven draw controls, three ground balls and three caused turnovers.
 
Kassaleh posted two caused turnovers and her eight draw controls gave her 300 for her career.
 
Junior Mia Monacelli (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) recorded 19 saves in the win.  
 
The Cougars travel to Post University for a CACC contest on Thursday, April 15 at 3 pm.