FREDERICKSBURG, Va. - The No. 2 Salisbury University women's lacrosse team came from behind Wednesday afternoon to top Capital Athletic Conference foe University of Mary Washington, 18-12. In doing so the Sea Gulls locked up the top seed and home-field advantage in next week's CAC tournament.

The Sea Gulls (15-1, 7-0 CAC) took a 2-0 lead less than four minutes into the game as sophomore Carrie Bray (Rockville, Md.) and junior Aileen McCausland (Phoenix, Md.) scored the opening tallies. Senior Jessica Chmielewski (Woodbine, Md.) assisted on McCausland's goal.

Mary Washington (10-4, 6-1 CAC) would tie the game, and the Sea Gulls would come back with another two-goal spurt to go ahead 4-2 on scores by senior Beth Rhodey (Fallston, Md.) and junior Logan Bilderback (Arnold, Md.). But that was as good as the first half got for Salisbury as the Eagles went on a 7-1 scoring run to close out the half, including finding the back of the net with one second to play, taking a 9-5 lead to halftime.

The Salisbury offense forced its way back into the game in the second half. The Sea Gulls scored the first six goals of the second half, taking an 11-9 lead with McCausland scoring three goals and Rhodey adding two more. Mary Washington got one goal to cut the lead to 11-10 before Rhodey assisted on a Bilderback goal to set off another scoring run, this time a five-goal spurt to blow the game open.

Rhodey and McCausland each finished with five-point performances, scoring four goals and adding an assist. Senior Kim Cudmore (Bel Air, Md.) put up two goals and two assists for four points, matching Chmielewski's four points on a goal and three assists. Bilderback finished with a hat trick.

Junior Julie Ann Caulfield (Drexel Hill, Pa.) played all 60 minutes in the cage, turning away six Mary Washington shots for the win.

The Sea Gulls' next contest will come in the CAC tournament semifinals, having earned a bye through the first round. Salisbury will host the winner of the first-round game between the fourth and fifth seeds in the tournament.