GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Jaylen Schulte scored six goals as eighth-ranked Limestone defeated Tusculum 14-5 in non-conference women's lacrosse action Wednesday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
Carleigh Davis added two goals and three assists and Shannon Sisk had a goal and four assists for the Saints (8-1), who outshot the Pioneers by a 36-8 margin and scored six straight goals over a 23-minute span to build a 10-2 lead.
Five different players accounted for the goals for the Pioneers (4-7), with Emily Gleason registering a goal and an assist to lead Tusculum. Rachel Holmes, Savannah Elliott, Brittany Lowery and Bailey Lowery each added goals for the Pioneers, who were playing their third nationally-ranked opponent of the season.
The teams exchanged goals in the opening four minutes, as a goal from Anna O'Donnell was answered by Tusculum's Elliott at the opposite end just 34 seconds later. The Saints then scored three in a row in a 3 1/2 minute span, as Sisk, Schulte and Lauren Chong helped Limestone to a 4-1 lead with 22:13 left in the first half. Gleason cut the margin to 4-2 with 20:30 remaining, but Courtney Lafler, Kathleen Gasset and Schulte responded in a three-minute burst to push the Saints ahead 7-2 with 8:09 left in the half. Schulte added her third of the game with six seconds left in the half as Limestone took an 8-2 lead to intermission.
Goals from Davis and Schulte extended the Limestone lead to 10-2 with 17:41 left, but Holmes got on the board with 15:01 left to pull Tusculum within 10-3. Davis and Lafler added goals in a 48-second span to give the Saints a 12-3 lead, but Brittany Lowery responded less than a minute later to leave the Limestone lead at 12-4 with 10:49 to go. Schulte closed out the scoring for the Saints with two goals in the last eight minutes, while Bailey Lowery netted the final goal of the day with 34 seconds left for the Pioneers.
Madison Malone led the Pioneers with three draw controls and three caused turnovers, while Holmes had two draw controls and a pair of ground balls. Schulte paced the Saints with five ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Alyssa Voccia had seven draw controls and Davis, Lafler and Sisk had three ground balls apiece.
Limestone had a 14-7 edge in draw controls over Tusculum and had a 26-12 advantage in ground balls. The Pioneers turned the ball over 19 times and went 10-for-17 on clears, while the Saints were 9-for-11 on clears and had 12 turnovers in the match.
Tusculum goalkeeper Brooke Wagner finished with a season-high 13 saves for the Pioneers, including nine in the opening half. Sydney Teeter started in goal for Limestone and played the first 30 minutes, with Jane Bartlett making two saves in the second half.
The Pioneers will be home Saturday to face Catawba in a South Atlantic Conference matchup from Pioneer Field, starting at 12 noon.
