ST. LOUIS –
Helen Bae scored the game-winning goal with 4:19 left to play to push the Maryville women's lacrosse team to the 2025 Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship with a 10-9 victory over Indianapolis Sunday afternoon. The Saints withstood a late flurry of attempts by the Greyhounds in the final minute and held on for their first GLVC title. Maryville earns its third straight Division II NCAA Tournament berth by virtue of the GLVC's automatic bid. The win is the 18th consecutive for the Saints to set a new program record.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Bae opened the scoring for the Saints before UIndy took the lead with three straight.
Marissa Zeno pulled one back but the Greyhounds built a 5-2 advantage. The Saints roared back with five straight goals in just over three minutes.
Natalie Tomljenovic sparked the run, and
Kylie Pettus deposited her first on the day a minute later.
Gaby Quinones fired in a free-position shot to forge a 5-5 tie.
Chloe Elliott put the Saints ahead 24 seconds later, and Tomljenovic's goal made it 7-5.
UIndy responded by scoring the first two goals of the third to tie the score but goals by Elliott and Pettus restored a 9-7 lead. The Greyhounds came back to deadlock the game at 9-9 to set up the game winner by Bae on a free-position shot with just over four minutes to play.
The Greyhounds pushed forward looking for the tying goal but the Maryville defense stood tall. Maryville goalie
Gianna Guzek stopped one shot, and UIndy misfired on a free-position shot a minute later. The Greyhounds had back-to-back free-position shots but missed high on one attempt, and Guzek made yet another crucial save on the second with 1:39 remaining. The Saints looked to run the clock out but the Greyhounds got the ball back with 20 seconds to play with a player-up advantage. UIndy had a shot from in front of the cage at the buzzer but Guzek made the save to preserve the win. Maryville's defense forced UIndy to miss five of its six free position attempts on the day.
STATISTICAL LEADERS:
Goals: four players - 2
Assists:
Marissa Zeno - 4
Points:
Marissa Zeno - 5
Ground Balls:
Helen Bae Chloe Elliott - 3
Draw Controls:
Chloe Elliott - 4
Saves:
Gianna Guzek - 9
RECORDS:
Maryville: 18-1
Indianapolis: 13-6
What's Next?
The Saints, as the top seed in the region, are likely to host the first two rounds of the 2025 NCAA Division II Tournament. Maryville will be the neutral site for a game Thursday, May 8, at 3 p.m. The Saints will play the winner of that game Saturday, May 10, at 3 p.m. for the right to advance to the quarterfinals.
