GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — UVA Wise scored five straight goals to break a third-quarter tie and go on to an 18-12 win over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference women’s lacrosse Wednesday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
Four players had three goals apiece for the Cavaliers (9-8, 6-5 SAC), who were aided by a 23-11 advantage in draw controls over the Pioneers. Logen Davis had three goals and three assists and Caitlyn Schultz had three goals and two assists for UVA Wise, with three goals each from Noley Hiller and Grace Golatt.
Liberty Jones and Kayla Nuccio each scored three times for the Pioneers (8-9, 4-7 SAC), who tied the game at 9-9 early in the third quarter only to see the Cavaliers quickly regain the lead before tacking on three goals in the final 90 seconds of the period.
Jessie Carolin-Vandenberg had two goals for the Pioneers, with a goal and an assist from both Cassidy Bourne and Elisha Stack. Mya Halladay and Mackenzie Sherrod also had goals for Tusculum, which was outshot 36-24 in the match.
Bourne and Halladay scored in the first 90 seconds to give Tusculum a quick 2-0 lead, but the Cavaliers chipped away and tied the score at 4-4 on a goal from Davis with 55 seconds left in the opening quarter.
The Cavs went up 6-4 early in the second quarter before Jones scored twice in 38 seconds to level the game at 6-6. Carolin-Vandenberg put Tusculum up 7-6 with 7:36 to go in the half, but Hiller scored twice as UVA Wise went up 9-7 at intermission.
The Pioneers tied the game at 9-9 on goals from Carolin-Vandenberg and Stack in the third quarter, but Golatt answered 15 seconds after Stack to put the Cavaliers up for good with 9:28 to go. UVA Wise netted three in the final 90 seconds, including two in the last 30, to go ahead 13-9 heading to the fourth.
The Wise lead continued to float between four and five goals before the Cavaliers tacked on two in the final three minutes to set the final. Jones, Nuccio and Sherrod all scored for the Pioneers in the final quarter.
Sherrod led the Pioneers with four ground balls and Nuccio and Haley Cain had three apiece, with Zuza Stasiak leading Tusculum with four draw controls. For Wise, Issie Brown had seven draw controls and Taryn Moreno finished with four ground balls and four caused turnovers. Golatt added six draw controls and Paige Rodgers had five ground balls for the Cavaliers.
UVA Wise had 29 turnovers and went 18-for-25 on clears, while Tusculum was 22-for-27 on clears and turned the ball over 28 times. The Pioneers were 6-for-8 on free-position shots with the Cavaliers going 1-for-3 as a team.
Emily White had nine saves in goal and broke her own program single-season record for saves with 173, surpassing the 167 saves she had last year. Addie Donalson made eight saves in goal for the Cavaliers.
In addition to White, Halladay ended the season with a single-season record of 88 draw controls. Bourne concluded her two-year career at Tusculum ranked third in assists with 37 and 10th in points with 96.
The Pioneers’ eight victories this season are the most for the program since 2016 and the third-most in a year in team history. Tusculum also set a program record this year with 48 free-position goals, led by 12 from Stack.
