ROCHESTER, N.Y. – With 20 minutes to play and the first postseason victory in program history precariously hanging in the balance, the Roberts Wesleyan College women's lacrosse team did what it always seems to do.

The second-seeded Redhawks (11-1) scored nine of the last 11 goals and pulled away for a 15-7 victory over third-seeded Molloy in an East Coast Conference semifinal game played on B.T. Roberts Turf Field. The hard-earned victory came against a conference rival that had ended Roberts' season in the last two ECC Tournaments that the Redhawks played in.

"We knew that we could do it all along," Roberts coach Kristin Paolini said. "Postseason is a completely different season and Molloy knows how to win in the postseason. Coming out here and winning against Molloy is huge."

The Redhawks will play top-seeded Mercy in the ECC championship game at 11 a.m. Saturday in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. The Mavericks defeated fourth-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas 20-8 in Thursday's other semifinal.

Junior Madison Bell and senior Emily Tomei both scored three goals in the second half and senior Lindsey Brinkel registered six of her seven points (2 goals, 5 assists) in the final 30 minutes.

"I feel like in the second half that we turned the switch and really started clicking," Brinkel said.

"Once we know that we are showing what we are capable of, we feel unstoppable," Bell added.

And the Redhawks literally were.

Tomei started the closing surge by converting an assist from Brinkel with 19:09 to play and Bell scooped up a loose ball and finished in close to give the Redhawks an 8-5 lead with 16:54 to play.

Tomei converted a feed from Brinkel to give Roberts its first four-goal advantage at 9-5 with 15:33 to play and Kelsey Simmons scored with 12:41 left to cap a 5-0 run.

"Our energy just gets us up," said Tomei, who finished with three goals and an assist. "We are so excited for each other and every goal just gets us more pumped up."

Bell converted a beautiful give-and-go pass from Brinkel as Roberts restored its five-goal lead with 10:14 remaining. Molloy countered with a goal before Jessica Giancursio fed Brinkel in front for a 12-7 Roberts' lead with 7:39 left.

Alexis Grant scored with 6:16 remaining to make it 13-7 and Tomei completed her hat trick with 2:11 to play. Giancursio closed out the scoring and clinched a berth in the championship game with 28.1 seconds left.

Bell led Roberts with four goals, Simmons finished with two goals, an assist and six draw controls and senior Taylor Nathan also scored twice. Giancursio contributed a goal, an assist and four draw controls.

Junior Natalie Arieno also stood tall in net with 13 saves, including several difficult stops when the score was tight.

"I know that my teammates have my back and I will have their backs," Arieno said.

Molloy took a 2-1 lead with 17:48 to play in the first half before Roberts went on a 4-0 run over the next 10:15 on goals by Brinkel, Simmons, Nathan and Bell. The Lions scored with 4:35  left in the half and Roberts took a 5-3 lead into the break.

The game stayed tight for the first 10 minutes of the second half before Roberts found another gear.

"It's awesome," Arieno said. "I am just so happy for the entire team and the entire program. We've worked so hard to get to this point and it is finally paying off."

The reward for the 16^th-ranked Redhawks is a third meeting with No. 15 Mercy this season. Roberts defeated Mercy 11-10 on an overtime goal by Bell on March 20, but fell to the Mavericks 12-6 in the regular-season finale on May 1.

"I feel like we played timid last Saturday," Brinkel said. "I think we just need to go down there and play our game."

Her coach agrees.

"We've got to put a full 60 (minutes) together," Paolini said. "But, we've got to do it step by step."