RALEIGH, NC. — Southern Virginia University women's lacrosse team fought hard but fell just short in a thrilling 10-11 loss to Meredith College in the USA South Conference Championship. Despite a valiant effort from the Knights, Meredith held on to secure the championship.
The game started with a quick strike from Southern's
Kiah Baisden, who scored an unassisted goal with just over six minutes remaining in the first period. Meredith quickly responded with an unassisted goal from Jessica Dowdy to tie the game at 1-1.
The second period saw Meredith take control of the game, but Southern's
Piper Searle scored first off an assist from
Kate Richards to take a 2-1 lead. However, Meredith's Dowdy scored two more goals, including one while the Avenging Angels were on a man-up situation, to give Meredith a 4-2 lead. Reese Walker and Tori Witmer each scored unassisted goals to extend Meredith's lead to 6-2. Witmer then added another goal off an assist from Kylie Phillips, and Dowdy assisted on two more goals from Witmer and Brooke Blades to put Meredith ahead 8-2 at the half.
Southern Virginia didn't give up and came out strong in the third period, with
Alissa Johnson scoring an unassisted goal to cut Meredith's lead to 8-3. Baisden added another unassisted goal, and Southern continued to chip away at the lead with another goal from Baisden to make it 8-5. But Meredith's Kylie Phillips and Dowdy responded with goals of their own, giving Meredith an 11-6 lead going into the final period.
The fourth period saw Southern Virginia mount an impressive comeback effort, with Johnson, Baisden, and Searle scoring consecutive unassisted goals to cut the deficit to 11-9. Southern's defense held strong, but it was Baisden's goal with just over three minutes remaining that made it 11-10. Despite a late push from the Knights, Meredith held on for the win and secured the conference championship.
Baisden led all players with a five-goal effort, while
Alissa Johnson recorded the hat-trick, breaking the 100-point season mark, making her the first player in program history to accomplish the feat. Searle rounded out the scoring with a pair of goals.
The Knights put up a valiant effort but ultimately fell short in a thrilling game against Meredith, who captured their ninth consecutive conference championship.
