RADFORD, Va. -- The Shepherd University women's club lacrosse team recorded a 13-8 win over Liberty University and a 4-3 triumph over host Radford University to advance to the championship game of the Radford University Tournament over the weekend. The win over Liberty was the first in program history.

The Rams will host their first home game on April 16 when they take on Howard Community College. The game is slated to start at 1:30 p.m. at Ram Stadium.

Game recaps are listed below.

Game 1 - Radford University 8, Shepherd University 5

Shepherd came out very strong in the first game of the tournament. The Rams were leading 5-2 in the first half, but just as time expired Radford scored to cut the lead to 5-3. The Highlanders carried that momentum into the second half as the Rams came out flat. Shepherd was unable to find the back of the net in the second half as Radford scored five unanswered goals handing the Rams an 8-5 loss. Shaena Smith led SU with two goals, six ground balls and four draw controls. Kaitlin Drake, Nikki Fusco and Cara Parks each added one goal apiece. Lindsay Russell and Kathleen Bryant picked up five and three ground balls respectively while Cynthia O'Neill, Karen Sutphin and Victoria Grimm each picked up two apiece. Fusco caused two Highlander turnovers. Betsy Kadow had two saves in goal for the Rams.

Game 2 - Appalachian State 8, Shepherd University 6 Shepherd continued to play flat at the start of the second game as ASU took a 6-2 halftime lead. The Rams put together a good comeback effort in the second half outscoring the Mountaineers 4-2, but ASU's first half lead proved to be too large. The Rams out shot ASU 16-11. Smith led the Rams with two goals, two ground balls and five draw controls. Parks had three assists and one goal while Drake, Melissa Neagle, and Russell each chipped in a goal of their own. Sutphin picked up an assist for the Rams as well. O'Neill and Lindsay Russell led the Rams defensively picking up seven and five ground balls respectfully while Brianna Hines caused two ASU turnovers. Amber Daniel and Kadow combined for three saves in the loss.

Game 3 - Shepherd University 13, Liberty University 6

A productive offense, good goaltending, and good second half defending led to Shepherd University's first ever women's lacrosse victory. Scoring was not a problem for the Rams in their third game of the day. The Rams were near perfect offensively against Liberty, scoring on all but one of their shots. SU led 6-5 at the half, but were able to hold the Flames to only one goal in the second half giving Shepherd their first ever win. Liberty's lone save of the game was made on Rachel Dewberry's second half shot. Smith led the Rams with four goals, five ground balls, and three draw controls. Drake scored a hat trick, picked up three ground balls, and had three draw controls. Parks and Sutphin each scored a hat trick in the win as well. Julie DeStefano and Fusco assisted on two of the Rams' goals. Defensively, Amanda Lundstrom, O'Neill and Parks picked up five ground balls while Paige Greaser and Hines picked up three of their own. The Rams got strong play from their goalies, as Kadow turned away seven of twelve shots in the first half and Daniel stopped four of five shots in the second.

After the round-robin play the teams were seeded. The seeding was as follows:

#1 ASU 3-0

#2 RU 2-1

#3 SU 1-2

#4 LU 1-2

#5 LC 0-3

LU beat LC in the "play-in game" to advance to play ASU in the semifinal and Shepherd played Radford in the other semifinal.

Semifinal - Shepherd University 4, Radford University 3

The third seeded Rams took on the second seeded Highlanders in the semifinal of the tournament. Shepherd was looking to avenge their first loss of the day to Radford, but the Highlander's came out strong taking a 3-1 lead. The Rams battled back with Fusco and Drake scoring to tie the game at 3-3. With less than four minutes left in the game, Smith rolled the crease on the goalie's right and ripped the ball passed the goalie's left shoulder for what proved to be the game-winning goal. The Rams made a crucial defensive stop after Smith's goal and were able to kill off the remaining time for the win. Smith scored two goals while Drake and Fusco each added one. Ashley Bryant and Parks picked up assists in the game. O'Neill led the Rams on the stat sheet defensively with four ground balls and one caused turnover while Dewberry and Parks added one ground ball and one caused turnover of their own. Kadow picked up the win in goal by stopping two of five shots.

Championship - ASU 8, Shepherd University 3

The Rams took on the Mountaineers of Appalachian State University in the tournament final. Fatigue seemed to finally catch up to the Rams as they were unable to keep up with the fire power of ASU. The closest the Rams got was 5-3 before ASU scored three unanswered goals to take home the championship. Smith scored two goals and Fusco added one. Drake picked up two assists in the game. Defensively, Drake, Lundstrom, and Bryant each picked up two ground balls while Smith and Lundstrom each caused two Mountaineer turnovers. Daniel and Kadow combined for four saves in goal for the Rams.