GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- After a season-opening win on Sunday, the Tusculum University women's lacrosse team jumps into its South Atlantic Conference schedule this week as the Pioneers travel to Mars Hill for a match on Saturday at 4 p.m.
The Pioneers (1-0) defeated Southern Wesleyan 17-7 on Sunday, outscoring the Warriors 13-3 in the second half to break a 4-4 tie. Tusculum outshot Southern Wesleyan 39-12 and held a 17-8 advantage in draw controls in the match.
PIONEER UPDATE
Graduate student midfielder Juliette Cusano became Tusculum's career leader in goals in the win over Southern Wesleyan, part of a seven-goal performance. Her second goal of the match late in the first half was the 140th of her career, surpassing the 139 goals scored by Savannah Elliott from 2015-18 for the most in program history.
Sophomore midfielder Tia Tuininga had four goals and five ground balls against Southern Wesleyan, with three goals from junior midfielder Emily Youngblood and two from sophomore midfielder Kylie Marek. Graduate student midfielder Eliza Ryan dished out a pair of assists, and junior attack Harley Smith chipped in with a second-half goal for the Pioneers.
On defense, Ryan had four ground balls and a career-high five caused turnovers for the Pioneers, and graduate student defender Hailey Sanders finished with three ground balls. In goal, senior Kate Pipkin came on in relief in the first half and made three saves to earn the victory.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Mars Hill (1-2, 0-1 SAC) split its first two non-conference matches, losing to Montevallo 14-3 in its season opener on Feb. 5 then beating Southern Wesleyan 15-5 on Feb. 15. On Tuesday, the Lions lost their SAC opener to Limestone by a 20-4 score. Saturday's game against Tusculum will be its fourth of six straight home matches to start the season.
Senior Kiersten Foust is the leading scorer for the Lions with seven goals and an assist for eight points, followed by junior Maria Fabrizio, sophomore Sydney Joyce and sophomore Alexa Tazzetta with four goals apiece. Joyce also leads the Lions in draw controls with 10 and has 11 ground balls, while Tazzetta has a team-high five caused turnovers.
Senior Alexandria Holleran and junior Gini Joy have shared goalkeeper duties for the Lions, with Joy making 20 saves in 98 minutes of playing time and Holleran 14 stops in 82 minutes of action.
The Pioneers beat the Lions 16-15 on the road in their last meeting on April 2, 2019 and are 2-0 all-time against Mars Hill.
COVID-19 PROTOCOLS
Visiting fans are not permitted at home women's lacrosse games for Mars Hill during the 2021 season. Links to live video and live stats feeds are posted at TusculumPioneers.com.