Buena Vista, VA - The Southern Virginia University women's lacrosse team played host to the Methodist University Monarchs in a conference matchup Saturday afternoon at Knight Stadium. Southern Virginia came into the game after a dominating win over Sweet Briar and came hunting for another. The end result wasn't what the Knights were looking for, as they ultimately lost by a final score of 19-3.
In the first five minutes, Methodist climbed to a quick advantage by punching in three goals. In the first quarter, both teams took advantage of man-up opportunities. Southern Virginia was able to score their first goal in one such scenario, as Makenzie Mickelsen scored on a shot that ricocheted off the keeper's stick.
With some rejuvenated energy, Southern Virginia went on the attack and got off a flurry of shots, but none finding the mark. Late in the first, Kenzie Poulsen would score in response to a few Methodist goals and another man-up scenario. The quarter ended with the Monarchs leading, 5-2.
Southern Virginia struggled in the second quarter with turnovers, giving up the ball ten times to a stout Methodist defense. Methodist made the most of the turnovers and would score multiple times. In the last few minutes of the half, the Knights were given a couple free possession attempts and were able to score for the third time off another Mickelsen shot. The half ended with the Knights still down, 10-3.
The third period opened with Methodist raining down shot after shot. Facing the most shot attempts of her young career, freshman keeper Savanna Burnett recorded three of her twelve saves in the first few minutes of the quarter before the Monarchs were able to slip one past her. Burnett was able to save two more throughout the quarter, but the continued pressure was too much, providing Methodist with a couple of more goals.
In the fourth quarter, goals were once again tough to come by. Southern Virginia's shots were being blocked, saved, or bouncing off the crossbar. Ellie Patterson stood tall in the fourth, ending the night with five caused turnovers, but it was too late. The Knights fell with a final score of 19-3.
The Monarchs outshot the Knights and turnovers ended up plaguing them as well. The teams split ground balls and draw controls evenly, with Mia Richards gathering four ground balls and Mickelsen garnering five draw controls herself.
The Knights will start a three game swing away from home by traveling to Bridgewater College for a non-conference game. The match is set for Wednesday, March 12th, at 4:00 PM. For the most up-to-date information on the team, follow @knightwlax on Instagram or visit knightathletics.com for more information and schedules.
