The Radford lacrosse team exploded for 12 goals in the second half to overcome an early deficit and earn an 18-13 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) at Cupp Stadium on Saturday. It's the ninth time the Highlanders have scored 18 or more goals in program history and the most goals they have ever scored in a season opener. Now in its fourth season of collegiate competition, Radford has begun 1-0 in back-to-back seasons. Preseason All-Big South selection Callie Bonnel got the scoring started, finding the back of the net for the first time in 2019 at the 25:50 mark of the first half. The Red Flash quickly showed that it wouldn't be an easy game though, scoring four straight goals to take a 4-1 lead over the next eight minutes. The Highlanders then outscored SFU, 5-2, over the rest of the first half to head into the locker room tied at six-all. Whatever Coach Hardy said in the locker room at halftime clearly worked as her team immediately came out firing in the second half. Junior attacker Lindsey Carroll scored just 24 seconds into the period and ended up scoring two more times as part of a 5-0 run that put Radford up 11-6. The Red Flash struck back with a 4-0 run that made things tight once again, but Radford responded and finished the game on a 6-2 run of their own to seal the victory. Senior Adrian Rius, who was also a Preseason All-Big South pick, led Radford with five goals on six shots. Bonnel, Carroll and senior midfielder Juliette Ruland each scored three goals and junior midfielder Amanda Paino had two. Senior Hannah Rosen started the game in goal and made five saves before freshman Maddie Bowman came on in the second half. She collected four saves and a strong .500 save percentage. STAT OF THE GAME Radford went 21-for-23 on clear attempts and won the turnover battle thanks to 15 caused turnovers. Twenty-nine of the Highlanders 32 shot attempts landed on goal in an overall very efficient offensive effort. FRESHMAN STARTERS Freshman defender Katie Bendrick earned a starting nod in her collegiate debut, keeping the Highlanders' streak alive of having at least one freshman start the season opener for four consecutive seasons. She was excellent, leading the Highlanders in draw control wins and ground balls with six in each category. She also caused two turnovers. QUOTABLE "It's great to come away with a win in out season opener against a scrappy Saint Francis team. We were sloppy today and a little over aggressive out of the gate. Once we settled down and started to play our game, the score got to where we wanted it. Katie Bendrick was a game changer for us." - Head Coach Haley Hardy UP NEXT The Highlanders get a week off before traveling to our nation's capital for a showdown with George Washington. The game is slated for Sunday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. at the Mount Vernon Athletic Complex. FOLLOW RADFORD LACROSSE ON SOCIAL MEDIA For more information on the Radford women's lacrosse team visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordWLAX on Twitter, 'radfordwlax' on Instagram or Radford Women's Lacrosse on Facebook.