Demorest, GA - Reaching the midway point of the regular season campaign, the Southern Virginia University women's lacrosse team traveled to Georgia to face the leading team in the USA South, Piedmont.
Southern Virginia entered the game looking for their first conference win while Piedmont was attempting to keep a clean slate in conference play. The Piedmont Lions showcased their talent to defeat the Knights, 23-4.
The Lions wasted little time in setting the tone during the first quarter. With a goal less than thirty seconds into the game, Piedmont came to defend their home turf. A rapid string of goals followed the first, giving Piedmont an advantage that would last all afternoon. But a costly foul near the goal gave Southern Virginia a scoring opportunity. With ease, Makenzie Mickelsen was able to knock one behind the keeper to get the Knights on the scoreboard.
Piedmont responded by unleashing a couple more goals, but Ellie Patterson followed her teammate's example, scoring her own goal in the same exact situation by sneaking the ball into the top right corner, giving the Knights their second goal. Despite this, the Lions controlled the pace of play and ended the quarter with a double-digit lead.
With the second quarter underway, Piedmont stayed in control, scoring multiple goals. Southern Virginia converted their third goal in a man-up situation following a yellow card on the Lions. Patterson received a pass and navigated through multiple defenders before skipping the ball into the goal from twelve feet out.
Mia Richards did her best defensively in the third quarter, causing two turnovers and collecting two ground balls throughout the game which led to shooting opportunities for Reagan Bullock and Ellie Patterson. Bullock eventually found the net late in the fourth quarter to bring her season total to ten. The play developed after Sydney Bastian traversed through a majority of the playing field after scooping up a ground ball and threw a nice pass to Bullock.
With the Lions throwing plenty of shots her way, Savanna Burnett did her best to help the scoreline, making five of her eight saves in the fourth quarter, limiting Piedmont to only two goals in the quarter. In the end, Piedmont had the advantage and the Knights lost, 23-4. Southern Virginia will play one more road game at Greensboro College before returning home. The game will take place on Wednesday, March 19th at 4:00 PM.
For the most up-to-date information and details on the team, follow @knightwlax on Instagram or visit knightathletics.com.
