There were signs second-year head coach Beth Hewitt had Vanderbilt poised to return to the elite of women’s lacrosse — if not to the caliber of the 2004 team that advanced to the NCAA semifinals, then at least to the level of consideration in national rankings.

Last year, Hewitt led the Commodores to their first winning season since 2010. Then they pushed Boston College to the brink two weeks ago.

Coming off a close loss to Louisville, Vanderbilt finally broke through Sunday, scoring six of the last seven goals to defeat No. 12 Denver 14-13. Bri Gross put back a rebound with 3:27 remaining for the go-ahead goal and the Commodores held on for their first win over a nationally ranked opponent since defeating then-No. 13 Stanford in 2014.

Vanderbilt (4-2) rallied from a four-goal deficit in the second half and negated a seven-goal performance by Pioneers star Quintin Hoch-Bullen.

Sophie Furlong scored a team-high four goals for the Commodores. Gross finished with a hat trick and 11 draw controls.

Denver fell to 4-1.

Amonte Hiller Joins 300-Win Club

Kelly Amonte Hiller became the eighth NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse coach to reach 300 wins Sunday as No. 10 Northwestern defeated visiting Stanford 25-18.

The Wildcats (4-2) trailed 7-2 in the first half and 12-10 early in the second half before exploded for two separate seven-goal runs to take control of the game. They shot a blistering 69.4 percent on 25-for-36 shooting. Lauren Gilbert scored a game-high six goals.

Notre Dame Downs Duke to Move to 5-0

Two returning All-Americans and two sensational freshmen provided the entirety of Notre Dame’s scoring, as the second-ranked Fighting Irish defeated Duke 13-9 in the teams’ ACC opener Sunday in South Bend.

Midfielders Andie Aldave and Kasey Choma led Notre Dame with four goals apiece. Attackers Maddie Howe and Madison Ahern added three and two goals, respectively.

Ahern, half of the dynamic freshman duo alongside Choma, added two assists and leads Notre Dame with 21 points through five games. The Fighting Irish are off to a 5-0 start for the second straight season.

The Blue Devils fell to 4-3 despite three goals each from Catherine Cordrey and Katie Cronin.

Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20

No. 2 Notre Dame 13, Duke 9
No. 10 Northwestern 25, Stanford 18
Vanderbilt 14, No. 12 Denver 13
No. 17 UMass 21, Ohio State 16

Other Scores

Butler 14, Akron 7
Campbell 11, George Washington 9
Cincinnati 15, Central Michigan 14
Delaware State 18, Howard 9
East Carolina 15, Virginia Commonwealth 12
Fairfield  15, New Hampshire 9
Jacksonville 18, Stetson 8
Niagara 11, Saint Francis 8
UC Davis 14, Oregon 8