HARTSVILLE, S.C. — Cassidy Bourne scored five goals and assisted on a pair as Tusculum University rolled to a 20-8 victory at Coker University in South Atlantic Conference women’s lacrosse Sunday afternoon.
Kayla Nuccio and Mackenzie Sherrod each added three goals and an assist, Mya Halladay scored three goals and Elisha Stack recorded two goals and four assists for the Pioneers (7-7, 3-5 SAC), who have won three straight road games for the first time since 2016.
Tusculum set a program single-game record with 50 shot attempts, breaking the previous record of 48 shots set at Lees-McRae on April 6, 2023. The Pioneers outshot the Cobras 50-21 and caused 18 of Coker’s 26 turnovers in the match.
Mia MacMillan led the Cobras (5-10, 1-8 SAC) with two goals and three assists, with two goals apiece from Kate Halcro and Amanda Arguello. The Cobras trailed 6-2 after one quarter and 13-4 at halftime, and went just 15-for-25 on clears.
Liberty Jones also scored twice for the Pioneers, with a goal apiece from Zuza Stasiak and Sophia Didzbalis. A total of 41 of the Pioneers’ 50 shot attempts were on goal, including all nine from Bourne and 6-for-7 for both Halladay and Stack.
Nuccio scored 21 seconds into the first quarter to open the scoring, then the Pioneers scored five goals in just over four minutes to build a 6-1 lead. Four goals in the first four minutes of the second quarter stretched the Tusculum advantage to 10-2, and the Pioneers would go up 13-4 at halftime.
Tusculum extended its lead to 16-5 with 4:37 remaining in the third quarter, and went up 18-6 on a goal from Jones with 9:55 remaining. Sherrod and Stack would close the scoring with goals in the final 3 1/2 minutes.
Halladay had eight draw controls to lead the Pioneers, while Stack and Bourne each had three caused turnovers. Jessie Carolin-Vandenberg, Halladay and Nuccio each had two caused turnovers while Bourne led the Pioneers with three ground balls. For Coker, Kaitlyn-Marie Retiro had four ground balls and Sydney Call led with three caused turnovers.
Emily White made five saves in goal for the Pioneers, while for the Cobras Olivia Schmidt made 13 saves in the first half and Harper Davidson added eight in the second half.
Tusculum will be on the road to play Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday, April 12 beginning at 2 p.m. The Bears enter the week at 7-6 overall and tied for fourth in the SAC with a 6-2 league record.
