EDWARDSVILLE – Kyra Boccio (Dingmans Ferry, Pa./Delaware Valley) scored a season-high six goals but visiting Keystone College took the lead early in the second half and held on for the 9-6 victory over Wilkes University Tuesday afternoon at Schmidt Stadium.
 
Wilkes fell to 1-3 overall after the loss while Keystone picked up its first win of the 2018 season standing 1-1 on the year.
 
Emily Hawkins put Keystone on the board first at the 26:54 mark when she scored on a free position shot at the right of the circle. Boccio tied the game two minutes later darting through the left side of the Keystone defense beating the Giants keeper to the top right corner.
 
Hawkins answered back with her second goal of the game with 23:23 on the first half clock as she swung a shot while falling down beating Sarah Carlini (Collegeville, PA/Pope John Paul II) in the cage.
 
Boccio knotted up the game again with 11:45 on the clock converting a free position goal after Keystone was penalized with a yellow card. Five minutes later the back-and-forth scoring continued as Savanna Robinson gave Keystone a 3-2 lead with 6:45 left in the half. Boccio completed the hat trick with just over five minutes remaining taking possession up the middle toward the goal beating the keeper to the left side tying the game for the third time.
 
Keystone took back the lead early in the second half when Nina Hodanich intercepted Carlini's pass out of the circle and quickly shot it past the keeper for the 4-3 advantage. Hawkins notched her third of the game off another free position attempt burying one to the back of the net to give Keystone a 5-3 lead with 24:38 left.
 
The lead grew to 6-3 three minutes later as the Giants advanced the ball to the attacking end in transition and Alex Smith finished off the run with a goal off a shot that was initially saved by Carlini. Wilkes took a yellow card on the next possession and Keystone took advantage of the man-up situation as Alex Smith scored off a ball that hit the post one shot earlier upping the lead to 7-3 with 19:36 remaining.
 
Boccio continued her scoring tear notching her fourth of the game to stop the Keystone rally as Wilkes trailed 7-4 with 16:15 on the clock. The goals kept coming from Boccio as the junior single-handedly kept the Lady Colonels in the game scoring her fifth of the game cutting the lead to 7-5 with 9:09 left.
 
Smith pushed the Keystone lead back to three goals scoring her third of the game with 7:31 remaining.
 
Boccio scored one more time with 1:43 left on the clock, but Keystone gained possession twice over the final minute including one last insurance goal and ran out the clock and a chance for a Lady Colonel comeback.
 
Carlini finished with nine saves in net for Wilkes while Daphne Leenas made a season-best 19 stops for Keystone to record the victory. Wilkes held a 26-19 advantage in ground balls while converting 21-of-31 clears.
 
Wilkes continues its home stretch Thursday hosting Old Westbury at 4:00 p.m. at Schmidt Stadium.