LYNN — It’s hard to beat a team twice in one season — let alone three times — but the No. 6 St. Mary’s girls lacrosse team had to do just that to advance to the Round of 16 for the first time in program history. 

Mission accomplished. 

The Spartans (15-2) took down No. 27 Bishop Fenwick (6-14), 18-8, in the Div. 3 Round of 32.

“Bishop Fenwick is our rival and a hard team to play. This is our third time seeing them this season. They’re the team that knocked us out of the tournament last year, so it was nice to have some redemption this time around,” said first-year St. Mary’s head coach Jessica Gambale. “Beating a team three times in a season is no easy feat. The things we’ve been working on all season and watching it come together today was really nice. We’ve come so far from the start of the season to where we are today.”

The game was tight early with Fenwick striking first, courtesy of Breanna Genzale (2 goals).

St. Mary’s scored two unanswered goals to make it 2-1 by the end of the opening quarter. You could say the highlight came with 23 seconds remaining when the Spartans’ Shaye Denning (6 goals) picked up a ground ball 45 yards from the net, sprinted past multiple defenders, got fouled, scooped the ball back up, and scored.

“Shaye is just up and down that field every game. She’s all 100 percent effort. If there’s a ground ball in her range, she’s going to pick it up. She’s an absolute dog on the field,” Gambale said. “Offensively and defensively, she’s immense. She leads our team in assists this season. I’m happy to have her on the team and will again next season.”

St. Mary’s led 6-2 before Genzale added a third goal for the Crusaders just before halftime.

“She’s had a really solid four years. She’s the main character of our team and has been for a few years,” said Fenwick coach Jill Robinson. “Graduating her is going to be a big loss. She had a great game today, running in the midfield. She’s been playing this season with a torn labrum, so she’s been toughing it out while waiting to get surgery after the season. She’s going to be playing at Framingham State University — strong kid, great character, and a great teammate.”

In the third quarter, Ava Nason (6 goals) started to do damage for St. Mary’s. Nason rattled off a hat trick during the quarter to give St. Mary’s a commanding 12-6 cushion.

“Ava’s been a huge asset to this team. She’s been in this program for six years. I don’t even know how many goals she scored in middle school, but in high school, she’s exceeded 300,” Gambale said. “This season, she’s close to 100 alone. She’s such a great girl to coach. She’s a good captain and leader. She tries to bring everyone up to her skill level and share the wealth, and not make it all about her.”

Fenwick’s Sophie Kholes netted a goal during the third quarter. Robinson praised her senior, who stepped up in her first season as a starter.

“It was her first year starting on varsity and she had a great year. She had a handful of points — somewhere in the 30s. She’s a great midfielder and great defender,” Robinson said. “She’s tall, athletic, and someone we could count on all season.”

Seemingly every time Fenwick scored or was on the cusp of gaining momentum, St. Mary’s answered immediately, something Gambale believed stemmed from culture.

“We’ve been working a lot on positivity and keeping each other up instead of bringing each other down. If the other team scores, we’re not pointing fingers,” she said. “If they score on us, it’s on the entire team and not on one person.”

Despite a Round-of-32 exit, Fenwick’s “future is bright,” according to Robinson.

“There’s been a lot of progress throughout the season. We had a really tough schedule with a super young team,” Robinson said. “We have four freshman starters and a handful of sophomores. We’ve been building along the way.”

St. Mary’s will host the winner of Thursday’s matchup between No. 11 Weston and No. 22 Hudson (TBD).