WASHINGTON, D.C. - Two Cardinals broke into the scoring column tonight, leading Catholic to a 2-0 victory over Mary Washington in this Wednesday's matchup.

Defense was the name of the game as the contest remained scoreless for the first 47 minutes. Senior Lauren D'Emilio put the Cardinals up 1-0 at the start of the fourth quarter on a pass from Mary Parker. Graduate student Gracie Burford added a late goal for the Cardinals off a penalty stroke with 1:17 remaining.

The first half was an even battle between these two squads. Mary Washington held possession early and continued sustained pressure throughout the first quarter. The Eagles drew two penalty corners and had one shot on goal, but Catholic recovered nicely and was able to avoid any danger. The Cardinals came fighting back in the second quarter to draw a penalty corner of their own. Their best look came when skillful stick-handling by freshman Lauren Keast led to a pass up the sidelines to a darting Niki Micciche, but the chance went begging.

Two key players for Catholic served penalty time after green cards were issued but Mary Washington could not convert on their women-up opportunities. The Cardinal starting defensive unit of Burford, Mary Rojack, Emma Shallow and Caroline Evans did not let anything pass.

D'Emilio scored just over two minutes into the fourth quarter. Parker collected the ball in front of the cage and set D'Emilio up to complete a difficult shot in traffic that snuck in just past the Mary Washington goalkeeper. This marks D'Emilio's first goal of the season and the fifth of her career.

For the second goal, an egregious penalty inside the circle drawn by freshman Keast earned the Cardinal penalty stroke. Burford was chosen to face the opposing goalkeeper one-on-one and converted easily. This also marks Burford's first goal of the season and the fourth of her career. 

The two teams have met 13 times since 2007 and each contest has been decided by three goals or less. With today's win, the Cardinals increase their lead in the all-time series to eight wins while the Eagles' remain at six. 

Catholic returns to Landmark Conference play on Saturday, Oct. 7 as it takes on Drew in Madison, N.J. Opening touch is set for noon.