Fayetteville, NC - The Southern Virginia women's lacrosse team traveled south to North Carolina for a battle with the Methodist University Monarchs, currently atop of the USA South standings. The game featured three lead changes and four ties with Methodist eventually coming out on top, 15-14.
Both squads entered the day with winning records in conference play. Southern Virginia came searching for their second consecutive win while the Monarchs were winners of nine in a row. Methodist had the opening tally and eventually built themselves an all important first quarter lead, 3-1. Piper Searle was the early heavy hitter for the Knights, single handedly bringing the Knights back even with her 4th goal in just the first quarter.
Good defensive pressure forced a Monarch's turnover at the beginning of the second and allowed Kiah Baisden to scoop up a loose ball. Baisden used her speed to make the clear and found Kenzie Poulsen with an open lane to the net who gracefully put it past the keeper. Poulsen's tally marks the fourth straight game that she's scored, it was also just the beginning of a terrific afternoon for her. Methodist would get one back but it was the Knights who countered with three goals to grab control of the game. The lead could've been greater but Addison England and Piper Searle were denied by the post and crossbar just 30 seconds apart. Baylee Bruce once again starred defensively late in the first half by taking a ground ball with a player down, weaving through several attackers for the clear and setting the stage for Piper Searle's 5th goal to give her team a 9-7 lead into half time.
The third quarter was all Methodist as they recaptured the lead by scoring four straight. They used relentless pressure to force several Knight turnovers in their defensive side and made clears difficult to come by. Kenzie Poulsen stopped the bleeding towards the end of the quarter with her 2nd of the contest to make it 11-10.
The tough third quarter performance proved to be a difference maker as the Knights were unable to equal the score the rest of the way. Along with Poulsen, Reagan Bullock scored while a player up with just over five minutes remaining to make things interesting at 15-12. Roxy Lebaron added one with eleven seconds remaining to pull her team within one and thanks to a draw control by Piper Searle, the Knights had an opportunity to tie it but couldn't convert.
Southern Virginia certainly put the pressure on the top team in the conference, but their conference record falls to 3-3 with several key games approaching. Both teams managed to pick up 25 ground balls, while the Knights got the better of the Monarchs in clears by converting on 16 of their 22 opportunities.
Southern Virginia will once again be on the road in their next matchup when they visit Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, North Carolina. The matchup will take place on Wednesday, April 17th at 3:00 PM.
For the most up-to-date details and information on the team, follow @knightwlax on instagram or visit knightathletics.com for streaming options and live stats.
