GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's lacrosse team will open its South Atlantic Conference schedule on Saturday, March 7 with a visit to Newberry College for a 3 p.m. match against the Wolves.
The Pioneers (2-2) will begin the week on Wednesday, March 4 with a 4 p.m. non-conference home match against Lee at Pioneer Field. Tusculum is 2-0 at home this season after winning just twice in eight home contests a year ago.
In their only action last week, the Pioneers traveled to Rocky Top Sports World in Gatlinburg and lost to Belmont Abbey by a score of 17-11.
RECAPPING THE WEEK
Belmont Abbey scored eight of the final nine goals in the second half to erase a deficit and defeat Tusculum 17-11 Wednesday afternoon at Rocky Top Sports World.
Tusculum led 10-9 on a goal by Juliette Cusano with 20:47 left, but was held scoreless for the final 12:14 by Belmont Abbey as the teams battled rainy and windy conditions on the turf.
Cusano had four goals to lead the Pioneers and Tia Tuininga scored three times as Tusculum overcame a 4-1 deficit midway through the first half with four unanswered goals to take a 5-4 lead. Tusculum had four leads in the match but never by more than one goal as Belmont Abbey had three different runs of four unanswered goals in the contest.
LOOKING AHEAD
Lee (3-2) snapped a two-game losing streak with a 15-12 win over UVa-Wise on Friday at home. The Flames are 3-0 against SAC teams this season, with wins over Mars Hill (20-10) and Newberry (14-9) to open the year.
Dariana Blanton leads the Flames in scoring with 14 goals, with 13 goals from Shayna Ryan and 12 from Brittney White. White, a freshman, ranks second in Division II with 11.4 draw controls per game, and her season total of 57 draw controls nearly equals the total of the Flames' opponents (62). Caleigh Smith has started all five games in goal and has a 13.78 goals against average and a .313 save percentage, with a total of 31 saves.
Wednesday's game will be the first-ever matchup between the Flames and the Pioneers, who are scheduled to play three Gulf South Conference opponents this season (Lee, Shorter, Young Harris).
Newberry (3-4, 0-1 SAC) has been idle since dropping its conference opener at Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday, Feb. 26 by a score of 18-4. The Wolves have played four of their first seven games at home, where they have compiled a 3-1 record.
Sophomore Chloe Wood, a second-team All-SAC selection with 59 goals last season, is off to a quick start this season as she leads Division II with 24 goals and ranks second in the nation with 34 points. Sophie Moore has scored 19 goals and Marissa Plumer has added 16 goals, while leading the conference with 33 draw controls and ranking second with 16 caused turnovers and 27 ground balls. Casey McCabe has 29 saves in five starts in goal for the Wolves, while Nicole Harker has started two matches and made 16 stops.
The Pioneers are 5-0 all-time against the Wolves, scoring at least 15 goals in all five victories. Last season, Tusculum beat Newberry 19-13 at Pioneer Field, and the Pioneers are 3-0 all-time at Newberry.
LEADER BOARD
Tusculum ranks second in the SAC and is 25th among 100 Division II programs with 15.25 goals per game, and the Pioneers are third in the conference with 14.0 draw controls per game. Cusano is second in the league with 17 goals and leads all players with eight free-position goals. Cusano is tied for third in the conference with 10 caused turnovers, and is tied for fifth with 16 draw controls.
Tuininga has scored 15 goals to rank second on the team, while fellow freshman Kylie Marek has eight goals and 15 draw controls. A total of 10 different players have scored goals for the Pioneers through four games.
Junior goalkeeper Kate Pipkin is fourth in the conference in saves with 36, and has reached double figures in each of the last two matches. Pipkin ranks sixth in the conference with a .412 save percentage.
FOLLOW THE GAMES
Links to live stats and video for Tusculum University athletic events can be found through tusculumpioneers.com.
