WASHINGTON, D.C. - For the eighth-straight year, the Catholic University women's lacrosse team can call itself champion, defeating Scranton 11-10 on Saturday on Carlini Field.

As a result, the 17th-ranked Cardinals (13-4) will also make their 13th appearance in the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship and eighth consecutive.

Senior goalkeeper Rachel Searle was named tournament MVP after posting 19 saves in two games, including a career-high 14 in the championship game.

Scranton struck first at the 10:05 mark as freshman Grace Lane scored the first of her game-high five goals.

However, Catholic scored the next three goals over six minutes and never trailed again. Sophomore Mattea Del Peschio scored first off a pass from Kate Olsen who recorded a career-high three assists to go along with a hat-trick as she netted her 50th goal of the season.

Senior Anna Maupin scored two goals in a span of 10 seconds, including one off a draw control.

After the Royals converted on their first of six free-position goals, sophomore Anna Corona scored with 13 seconds left in the quarter to give the Cardinals a 4-2 advantage after 15 minutes.

The Royals (13-6) scored the first two goals of the second before Catholic responded with another three-goal run, kicked off by a fast break opportunity when junior Grace Hill found senior Julia Piet to give the lead back to the Cardinals. Olsen then converted on a free-position shot and classmate Caroline Beckett scored her first of the game with 1:44 remaining in the half.

Scranton got one more on the board before halftime as Catholic led 7-5.

Olsen and Beckett opened up the scoring in the second half to stretch the Catholic lead to as many as four with 5:36 remaining in the third. Scranton would battle back, scoring the next four over a 10-minute period to tie the game at 9-9 with 9:48 remaining in the game.

In a back-and-forth finish, both teams combined for six goals, all on free position attempts. Scranton's Grace Lane scored to open the quarter and tie the game, but Hill and Olsen scored back-to-back to regain the lead at 11-9 with 5:49 left.

Led by Searle, the Cardinal defense held strong as she made four of her 14 saves in the period, including the last with four seconds to play to preserve the win.

Defensively, sophomore Rachel Rubenstein caused two turnovers and freshman Grace Murphy scooped up three ground balls. Corona led the Cardinals with a career-high four draw controls.

The selection show for the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship will be Monday, May 9 at 10:30 a.m. on NCAA.com. Watch here.