ELMIRA, N.Y.  – First-year head coach Brandon Bitka guided his Hilbert Women's Lacrosse team to his first win as a collegiate head coach and the program's first win dating back to April 2018.

The Hawks created a five-goal cushion heading into the final quarter and rolled to an 8-4 road win over Elmira College.

HIGHLIGHTS

Olivia Cleary faced 27 shots and was credited with 11 saves in her fourth complete game this spring.

Jessee Jonathan, Samantha Accurso, and Olivia Horn each tossed in two goals while Alexandria Stoddard and Gabby Calandra added a score a piece.

Jonathan led with four draw controls while Calandra paced the turf with seven ground balls.

QUOTES

• "Today's victory isn't just a win on the scoreboard; it is the culmination of hard work, dedication, trust and belief in each other," said Brandon Bitka.  "I couldn't be more prouder of every player on this team.  This program has been through it all, and this group earned this win. This is just a beginning, and we will continue to push to keep getting better every day."

The team wanted to share a message to coach Bitka after he earned his first win:

• "We are beyond excited for coach Bitka, and we are all grateful for his leadership and the hard work he has put in to get us here; he has transformed this team into a family atmosphere, and we love playing for him."  Olivia Cleary continued, "This win marks a new chapter for us and we are looking forward to building on this success as a team under his guidance."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Hilbert was very efficient on offense building a 5-0 lead through the first 19 minutes of the half.
• Jonathan opened the scoring at 8:11 and finished the run at 4:56 in the second quarter.
• Elmira notched two back-to-back hits, just 25 seconds apart in the final 31 seconds of the second quarter to inch back to a five-goal differential.
• The Hawks made life more comfortable in the third period, padding their lead with two more markers.
• The Soaring Eagles wrapped two man-up goals around Hilbert's man-down goal in the fourth quarter before the final horn.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Hilbert recorded three more shots on goal than Elmira with Cleary making one more save than the Soaring Eagles' goalie.
• The Hawks were credited with 24 successful clears (of 26 attempts), hustled to three more ground balls (30-27) and won three more draws (9-6).

UP NEXT

Hilbert (1-3) continues with their road trips, as they will travel to Pittsburgh next Saturday for a 3 pm first draw in their first AMCC league game at La Roche University March 29th.