(4-11), (2-5) 1 2 Final Lafayette 7 7 14 Bucknell 4 7 11 Box Score (2-12), (0-7)

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Lafayette women's lacrosse team used six goals and an assist for seven points from Kirsten Wilhelmsen to take care of business in a must-win scenario on Wednesday evening in Lewisburg, Pa. with a 14-11 victory over Bucknell.

Lafayette, improving to 2-5 in Patriot League play with the victory, will now need a win over Colgate on Saturday in Hamilton, N.Y. as well as some help from around the league to slip into the sixth spot and make its first postseason berth since the 2012-13 season.

Lafayette came out of the gates on fire, opening up a 5-1 lead on an Amanda Case goal off free-position with 10:18 to play in the half. The Bison woke up over the next five minutes, cutting the Leopards' lead to one at 5-4 on a great all-around play from Bucknell's Gretchen Richter. Richter won the opening draw clean and worked a give-and-go that left her wide open in front of Lafayette goalkeeper Anna Raymond for the Bison's fourth tally.

Sarah Malone finished a great feed across the front of goal from Ashley Tedesco at the 4:07 mark to buck the Bison run and push the cushion back to two at 7-4 for the Leopards.

With under a minute to play, Bucknell goalkeeper Elizabeth Duswalt looked like she was content with running out the clock. However, with 15 seconds left in the half, Wilhelmsen picked off a clearing pass, beat the goalie who had been pulled out of the cage, and slotted the ball into an open net to send the game into the break with the Maroon and White on top, 7-4.

Both teams traded goals to open second-half action before a caused turnover from Richter led to a transition tally from Erika Stube at the 20:47 mark to cut the Lafayette edge to two at 8-6. Malone came back less than a minute later to push the lead back out to three on a dunk finish after a Tedesco lob.

The Leopards continued to step on the gas throughout the next five minutes as a pair of tallies from Wilhelmsen opened up a five-goal advantage at the 14:09 mark of the second half at 11-6. Two quick goals out of a Bucknell timeout with 13 minutes remaining, however, stopped the run and pulled the Bison back within three, 11-8.

Wilhelmsen's sixth tally of the game came at the 7:48 mark, pushing the Lafayette edge back to four at 13-9, as Lafayette continued to respond to every Bucknell comeback bid. Another Bucknell run came over the next two minutes as two straight goals made it 13-11, but just as the Bison were looking to head in for their third straight, Laura Rowan came up with a vital caused turnover to give the Maroon and White possession with less than four minutes to play.

Malone added her fourth goal with less than a minute remaining and the Leopards rode out the end of the clock with a 14-11 victory in Lewisburg.

Lafayette led the way in shots, 23-20, and ground balls, 14-12, while Bucknell edged the Leopards in draw controls, 15-11. Coming in with just three goals on the year, Malone was excellent, recording four goals, including a pair from two of Tedesco's six assists for the game. Also tallying scoring markers for the Maroon and White were Case with a pair and one each from Charlotte Rath and Maggie Carver.

Raymond made four saves on 20 shots faced for her fourth win of her rookie campaign, while Bucknell's Duswalt stopped three Lafayette shots, moving to 2-12 on the year between the pipes.

The Leopards finish up regular season Patriot League play on Saturday at Colgate with opening draw set for 1 p.m.