GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Sydney Trask scored four of her game-high five goals in the first 11 minutes to help UVA Wise to a 13-7 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse action Monday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
Jesse French had five assists for the Cavaliers (5-5, 5-3 SAC), who outshot the Pioneers 35-19 and forced Tusculum into 26 turnovers. Katie Allen had three goals and Mallory Trimble and Ellie Earnshaw had two goals apiece for the Cavaliers, who led 8-3 at halftime.
Megann McKinney led the Pioneers (1-5, 0-5 SAC) with two goals and an assist, with two goals apiece from Briana Minter and Juliette Cusano along with a goal from Tia Tuininga. Tusculum had a 14-8 edge in draw controls, with eight wins by Cusano, but the Pioneers were just 14-for-23 on clear attempts.
The Cavaliers got on the board just 1:26 into the first half on a goal by Earnshaw, and went up 2-0 as Trask scored with just under six minutes gone. A goal from Kaila Lacey extended the Wise lead to 3-0 with 22:46 left in the first half, then Trask scored three straight in a span of three minutes to push the Cavaliers up 6-0 with 19:03 remaining in the half.
Tusculum got on the board with 18:18 left in the half on a goal from McKinney, but Allen scored twice in about 4 1/2 minutes to push the Cavaliers ahead 8-1 with 8:41 to play in the first half. Allen's second goal would be the last of the half for UVA Wise, as goals from Cusano and Minter 22 seconds apart trimmed the Cavs' lead to 8-3 at intermission.
The Pioneers continued to chip away at the Cavaliers' lead to start the second half, pulling within 8-4 on Cusano's second goal of the day with 26:34 left. The Cavaliers broke a scoring drought of 18 1/2 minutes on a goal from Trimble with 21:08 left, but Minter came back to make it a 9-5 game with 18:19 to go.
The goal by Minter was the last by the Pioneers for the next 11 minutes, as the Cavaliers extended their lead on goals from Allen, Trask and Trimble to go ahead 12-6 with 7:46 left. Tuininga and McKinney scored 22 seconds apart in an attempt to kick-start one last comeback attempt, but the Pioneers would go scoreless for the final 6:51. Earnshaw closed out the scoring for the Cavaliers with 2:05 left.
Eliza Ryan had three ground balls and three caused turnovers to lead the Pioneers, while Emily Youngblood had three ground balls and a pair of draw controls. Hailey Sanders added three ground balls and three caused turnovers for the Pioneers, who forced the Cavaliers into 16 turnovers.
For the Cavaliers, Trimble led with four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Trask and Ashley Shannon each had three draw controls to pace UVA Wise, with three ground balls credited to Riley Fenster.
For Tusculum, Kate Pipkin played all 60 minutes in goals and made a season-high 12 saves. Jordan Edwards also went the distance for the Cavaliers, finishing with eight saves on 15 shots on goal by the Pioneers.
Prior to the game, Tusculum honored seniors Pipkin, Minter, McKinney and Bethany Thomas along with fifth-year graduate students Ryan, Cusano and Sanders.
Tusculum will conclude its 2021 season on Saturday, April 17 at Wingate, beginning at 1 p.m.
