Misenheimer, NC - In a matchup that featured two teams deadlocked in the conference standings, the Southern Virginia women's lacrosse team made another trip to North Carolina for a date with Pfeiffer University. The Knights used an early surge to defeat the Falcons, 20-9, to stay in front of them in the conference standings.
With the final week of the regular season approaching, competition within the conference takes on even greater importance as tournament seeding begins to take shape. The Knights played with a sense of urgency and it showed from the start in their second consecutive road contest. Despite an early tally from Analise Robinson of Pfeiffer, the Knights found twine thanks to Kenzie Poulsen which sparked a flurry of five goals in the next six minutes for the team. They were ball hawks during the run and forced the Falcons into many failed clearing attempts that turned into goals the other way. Southern grabbed 8 of their 16 total ground balls in just the first quarter, vaulting them to a 7-3 advantage after fifteen minutes.
Pfeiffer provided some pushback in the second by scoring on two of their first three attacking possessions, but McKayla Martin flipped a switch and scored two goals after a couple of Falcon penalties to put the Knights back in control. Martin's 3 goals in the first half marked her first hat trick of the season. Pfeiffer would add one more before the break and cut the deficit to 10-7.
The second half was another goal fest for the crimson and white, while Makaylee Huntsman and the defense shut the door on the Falcons attack from there on out. Huntsman was making her second start in between the pipes and came out of it with 5 saves, only relinquishing 2 goals in the second half. Kiah Baisden and Piper Searle combined for two free position goals in a matter of 45 seconds to get the Knights rolling again and after another Pfeiffer score to make it 12-9, Southern Virginia took full control of the game.
The Falcons were held scoreless for the remaining 22 minutes of the contest as the Knights attackers poured it on, eventually extending the lead to double digits. Kiah Baisden and Roxy Lebaron each grabbed four ground balls and caused four turnovers while Addison England and Mariela Perez also contributed to the stellar defensive effort by causing two turnovers each. McKayla Martin was the last to score, potting her 4th of the day and putting 20 on the board for the second time in three games. The Knights' depth scoring was unmatched as six players had multi-goal games en route to their 20-9 victory.
The field was tilted towards the Falcons net for most of the day, allowing Southern Virginia to pepper them with 36 shots on goal, easily outpacing Pfeiffer's 15. The Falcons only managed to complete 11 of their 25 clearing attempts, another testament to the ramped up pressure on both sides of the ball from the Knights. Kenzie Poulsen continued her goal scoring rampage with 3 on the day, she now has 14 goals in her last five games to reach the 20 goal barrier in her freshman season.
The team will gear up for their next matchup on Saturday, April 20th, against another conference foe in Brevard who sits just one spot above them in the conference standings. The contest, beginning at 10:00 AM, should have great implications on tournament seeding as the Knights look to stay undefeated against the Tornados all-time.
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.
