PLYMOUTH, N.H. -- Plymouth State University held off a strong second-half rally as the Panthers edged visiting Bridgewater State University, 12-10, in non-conference women's lacrosse action on Wednesday afternoon at Arold Field.

PSU won its fifth consecutive game to improve to 8-2 overall, while BSU had a two-game win streak stopped and dipped to 6-3.

Senior Lauren Geary (Hull, Mass.) had a standout game for Bridgewater State, scoring a game-high seven goals, registering 11 ground balls and four draw controls and causing eight Panther turnovers.

Sophomore Sam Sullivan (Canton, Mass.) paced the victors with four goals, all coming in the first half.

The Panthers controlled the game in the first 30 minutes and held a 9-2 advantage late in the half. BSU got two back before the intermission and outscored the home team 6-2 over the first 25 minutes of the second half to pull to within one goal at 11-10 with less than five minutes remaining.

Junior Caroline Vonachen (Framingham, Mass.) potted a big insurance goal for PSU with 1:45 remaining and the Panthers ran out the clock for the victory.

Vonachen, sophomore Megan Tingley (Natick, Mass.) and freshman Kimmie Zuccaro (Townsend, Mass.) contributed two goals apiece for PSU, with Tingley adding two assists and Vonachen one. Zuccaro collected a team-high five draw controls while sophomore Sophia Guerriero (Essex, Mass.) picked up a team-best five ground balls. Junior goalie Meg Brault (South Windsor, Conn.) made nine saves between the pipes while also recording six ground balls and four caused turnovers.

Freshman Elizabeth Ettridge (Marshfield, Mass.) chipped in with two goals for the Bears, while senior Marissa Yowell (Ashland, Mass.) added a goal and junior Alex King (North Weymouth, Mass.) contributed three assists. Junior goalie Allie Forman (Marblehead, Mass.) turned away 11 Panther shots in the Bears' net.

Sullivan and Zuccaro gave the Panthers an early 2-0 lead, and Geary's first goal cut the margin in half eight minutes into the game. PSU ran off four goals in a row, one each by Sullivan, junior Kaitlyn Wilder (Framingham, Mass.), Vonachen and Tingley, to take a 6-1 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the half. After Ettridge broke the streak with a free-position goal, PSU scored three in a row, two by Sullivan and one by Tingley, to make it 9-2 with less than four minutes on the first-half clock.

Geary came back with a goal with two minutes to play in the half, and added another as time expired to make it 9-4 at the break.

Guerriero scored the first goal of the second half for PSU, but BSU refused to back down. The Bears scored four in a row, including two by Geary, to pull to within two goals, 10-8, with 13 minutes remaining. After Zuccaro scored for PSU, Geary added two more to make it 11-10 with less than five minutes remaining. That's as close as the Bears would come, as PSU held on for the 12-10 victory.

Both teams are right back in action Thursday as the Panthers host Salem State University at 4:00 p.m. at Arold Field and the Bears travel to Roger Williams University for a 7:00 p.m. match-up.

Notes: Geary set the Bears' all-time record for ground balls as she increased her career total to 271. Geary eclipsed Taylor Clancy's previous program mark of 268 ground balls set in 2014....With her seven goals, Geary moved into fourth place on the Bears' all-time goal scoring list as she now has 198 markers in four seasons at Bridgewater State.