GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- A stretch of four games in 11 days awaits the Tusculum University women's lacrosse team as it weaves in and out of conference play during the first half of March.
The Pioneers will host Florida Tech in a non-conference tilt on Wednesday, March 9 at 6 p.m. at Pioneer Field, then Tusculum visits Newberry on Saturday, March 12 at 2 p.m.
Tusculum (2-3, 0-1 South Atlantic Conference) dropped its SAC opener to Mars Hill on Saturday by a 17-12 score, as the Lions roared back from a 7-0 first-quarter deficit. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Pioneers, who are in the midst of a stretch of five home games in a span of three weeks.
PROFILING THE PIONEERS
Junior Tia Tuininga leads the Pioneers in goals (17), assists (6) and points (23), ranking eighth in the SAC in both goals and points. Tuininga has scored five goals in each of her last two games, and had a season-high four draw controls against Mars Hill. She became the eighth player in program history to reach 50 career goals (now at 53) and has scored at least one goal in 17 of her 18 career games.
Senior Emily Youngblood has 10 goals and three assists for 13 points and is third on the team with 15 draw controls. Youngblood, who has a goal in all five games this season, is tied with Tuininga for ninth on the program career points list with 63 and ranks sixth in career ground balls with 78.
Junior Kylie Marek is tied with Youngblood with 13 points on eight goals and five assists, and she ranks eighth in the conference with a team-high 22 draw controls. Grad student Megann McKinney has nine goals and three assists for 12 points, and sophomore Lucy Brewer has added seven goals and three assists for 10 points along with 20 draw controls.
On defense, senior Harley Smith leads the Pioneers with 16 ground balls and seven caused turnovers, while junior Kamryn McNeil has 10 ground balls and three caused turnovers on defense along with four goals on offense. Grad student Bethany Thomas has seven ground balls and four caused turnovers, and sophomore Morgan Correia has nine ground balls and four caused turnovers in five starts.
Senior Taylor Floyd has started each of the last two games for the Pioneers, and made a season-high 13 saves against Mars Hill. Floyd is fourth in the SAC in saves (36) and save percentage (.507) while ranking 10th in goals against average at 11.08.
Tusculum leads the SAC in shooting percentage (50.0 percent) and percentage of shots on goal (83.6 percent). The Pioneers are seventh in the conference in goals per game (12.80) and 10th in goals against average at 12.60, and rank seventh in draw controls per game at 13.60.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Florida Tech is 3-0 after a 24-0 shutout win over Davis & Elkins on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers outshot the Senators 40-0 and led 16-0 at halftime en route to tying the program record for goals in a game. Florida Tech was 11-for-17 on free-position shots and had advantages of 17-7 on draw controls, 19-6 on caused turnovers and 26-8 on ground balls.
Senior Caroline MacLeod leads the Panthers with 11 goals and an assist for 12 points, along with 24 draw controls. Junior Kayla Minton has 10 goals and an assists, while sophomore Jennifer Boyle, junior Rachel Johnson and freshman Carly Niro have scored eight goals apiece.
MacLeod and Boyle share the team lead with eight ground balls, while freshman Charlotte Hardie and sophomore Elizabeth Christ are each in double figures in draw controls with 11 and 10, respectively. Niro and senior Kailee O'Brien are tied for the team lead in caused turnovers with six apiece.
Freshman Cailey Canessa has started all three games in goal for the Panthers and has made seven saves in 120 minutes of playing time, with a 10.50 goals against average.
The teams' only previous meeting came exactly five years earlier, with the Panthers defeating the Pioneers 22-4 at home on March 9, 2017.
Newberry carries a 4-1 record into this week's action, and have won four straight since a season-opening 21-5 loss to Queens on Feb. 12. The Wolves, who are scheduled to travel to Lees-McRae on Wednesday, defeated Emmanuel 25-9 in their most-recent game on Sunday. Newberry's four straight victories all came at home, after the Wolves went 1-4 at home last season.
Senior Chloe Wood is second in the SAC with 25 goals and 30 points, and ranks eighth in the conference with 22 draw controls. Wood has scored seven goals in back-to-back games, and had four assists for 11 points along with eight draw controls in the win over Emmanuel.
Junior Marissa Plumer has 10 goals and eight assists for 18 points, and freshman Cassell Richardson has contributed 10 goals and four assists for 14 points. Richardson is second in the SAC with 27 draw controls, while Plumer is tied for the team lead among field players with 11 ground balls.
The Wolves have used three goalkeepers this season, led by freshman Mack Dorr who has made 23 saves and compiled a 12.65 goals against average in four starts. Sophomore Kaitlyn Lamanna has played 75 minutes and has an 8.00 goals against average with six saves.
Newberry averages 14.4 goals per game to rank fifth in the conference and is giving up 10.8 goals per game which is eighth-best in the league. The Wolves are second in the SAC in draw controls per game at 16.4, but rank ninth in save percentage at .386.
The Wolves beat the Pioneers 15-13 in Greeneville on March 20 of last season for their first-ever win over Tusculum following six defeats.
FOLLOW THE PIONEERS
Live stats are available for all home Tusculum University women's lacrosse matches. Links to stats and video for home and away matches are posted at tusculumpioneers.com.
