Mercersburg defeated visiting Saint James (Hagerstown, MD) 18-7 in a girls' varsity lacrosse game May 8.

The Storm set the tone early as Maria Rihn '24 scored just 15 seconds into the game on a beautiful feed from Emerson Lissette '24 behind the net. The Saints immediately tied the game 15 seconds later and Lissette and Rihn duplicated their first scoring play just a minute after that. It was off to the races from there as the teams scored a combined twelve goals in a first quarter that ended with Mercersburg in front 9-3. The scoring continued at a solid, but more measured pace after that, and the Saints stayed within six or seven goals until midway through the third period, when the Storm went on a 5-0 run to close out the game and secure the 18-7 win.

Nora Smith '24 and Alishya Thurmond '24 scored four goals apiece and Rihn and Lissette wound up with three goals each to pace the offense. Lissette led the team with eight assists, most of them from behind the opposing goal where she found teammates cutting in front of the crease. Rihn, Thurmond, and Chloe Allis '25 added two assists each and Smith had one while doing a great job on defense, shutting down the Saints' top scorer. Sarah Howley '26 had two goals for the Storm while Allis and Mogere Nyakoe '25 each had one.

Thurmond was also dominant in the draw circle, controlling sixteen draws for the game. Scarlett McArthur '24 collected seven saves, bringing her to one hundred forty-four for the season and two hundred forty for her two-year career in net.

"This was an outstanding team effort," said head coach Kristin Ahlgren, "and the Storm continue to get better in each game!" 

Mercersburg is now 8-7 with their final regular season contest coming up at home on Friday, May 10 against Chambersburg high school. Game time Friday is 5 pm.