Montgomery, AL - Alabama certainly was a brief but sweet home for the Southern Virginia women's lacrosse team as they blew past the Hawks of Huntingdon College, 22-3.
For a team that had scored at least twenty goals in three of its previous four games, it took the Knights a few minutes to find their openings, but when they did, the flood gates came crashing down. Seniors Piper Searle and Kiah Baisden seemed to have the good feelings of their Senior Day victory over Brevard still running through their veins, as they wasted no time putting the Hawks in their rear view mirror. Those two combined for the first two goals before Huntingdon cut the lead to 2-1 thanks to a goal by Colby Jones. At that point, the Knights would begin a run of 19 consecutive goals that carried to the midpoint of the fourth quarter. Their second quarter in particular was one to remember.
In the first twenty seconds of the second, Piper Searle scored while the Knights were down a player, ultimately setting the stage for a scoring rampage that found double digits before halftime. Addison England dominated on draws, winning three of them in just three minutes which all led to goals. Roxy Lebaron proved deadly on the attacking side of things, potting her first of the day to make it 7-1 as part of a four point afternoon. She would also score the second Knights' goal with a player down, increasing their advantage to 13-1 before Piper Searle put the finishing touches on a near perfect quarter with her fifth of the game to that point.
The second half didn't see as many fireworks but Southern Virginia still kept the game under control, only surrendering two goals in the final frame. Kenzie Poulsen put the exclamation point on her stellar rookie season with the final tally for either team on the day. It was her 27th on the season and resulted in a 22-3 final score.
Southern Virginia outshot the Hawks 35-7 and also dominated on draws, winning 22 compared to Huntingdon's 7. Piper Searle led the way on the attack with 6 goals while Reagan Bullock chipped in with 2 goals to go along with 4 assists to lead the team in that category. McKayla Martin and Baylee Bruce each picked up 4 ground balls to help the team better the Hawks in that department as well. Piper Searle now has 59 goals on the season to lead the team and Kiah Baisden is right behind her with 53. Both of them have obliterated their career highs and make history as only the second and third athletes in program history to reach the 50 goal plateau.
Tournament season will begin for the Knights on Tuesday, April 30th, when the Tornados of Brevard College are back in town for a rematch after their defeat to Southern Virginia on Senior Day at Knights Stadium. The teams will be playing for a spot in the USA South semifinal round to face the winner between Methodist and Greensboro. Southern Virginia earned home field advantage for the first round by claiming the #4 seed and Brevard finishing as #5.
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.
