GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- For the first time in 27 days, the Tusculum University women's lacrosse team will take to the field as the Pioneers host Newberry College in a South Atlantic Conference match on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Pioneer Field.
The Pioneers (1-0) have been in the SAC Return to Play protocol since February 26, with all team activities paused for two weeks. Tusculum's only match so far this season has been a 17-7 win over Southern Wesleyan in the season opener on Feb. 21. Saturday's match with Newberry had been originally scheduled for March 6, and had been rescheduled for March 17 before being moved again to the 20th due to the threat of rain on Wednesday.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Graduate student midfielder Juliette Cusano is Tusculum's new career leader after scoring seven times in the win over Southern Wesleyan. Her second goal of the match was the 140th of her career, which surpassed the 139 goals scored by Savannah Elliott from 2015-18 for the program career record.
Sophomore midfielder Tia Tuininga finished with four goals and five ground balls against Southern Wesleyan, while junior midfielder Emily Youngblood collected three goals and sophomore midfielder Kylie Marek added a pair. Graduate student midfielder Eliza Ryan dished out a pair of assists, and junior attack Harley Smith contributed a second-half goal for the Pioneers.
On defense, Ryan had four ground balls and a career-high five caused turnovers for the Pioneers against the Warriors, and graduate student defender Hailey Sanders finished with three ground balls. In goal, senior Kate Pipkin earned the victory with three saves after entering the game in the first half.
SCOUTING THE WOLVES
Newberry is coming off a thrilling 13-12 overtime win over Catawba on Sunday, the third straight victory for the Wolves (3-2, 3-1 SAC). The Wolves trailed 12-9 with just over a minute left in regulation, but tied the game on goals by Taylor Doiron, Chloe Wood and Heather Johnston in a span of 43 seconds. Sophie Moore then scored the winning goal, her fifth of the match, to give Newberry the victory.
Newberry's win streak began with road wins over Mars Hill (22-17) on March 6 and Coker (23-13) on March 10. Moore leads the SAC with 22 goals in five matches, and ranks second in points with 25. Wood has 16 goals and seven assists for 23 points and Marissa Plumer has added eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points, with her 11 assists tying her for third in the conference.
Wood is third in the conference with 31 draw controls, including 10 in the win over Catawba. Madalyn Messersmith and Plumer share the team lead with eight caused turnovers, while Kaitlyn LaManna has a team-best 13 ground balls followed by Wood with 11. LaManna has started four matches in goal, making 37 saves and compiling a 17.32 goals against average.
SERIES HISTORY
The Pioneers have had their most success against the Wolves than any other opponent, winning all six meetings including a 12-11 victory in what would be the final game of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Tusculum is 3-0 at home and away against Newberry.
COVID-19 PROTOCOLS
Capacity of Pioneer Field is 200 for home women's lacrosse matches. Gates will open one hour before game time, and attendance is limited to family members (2 per player) of Tusculum student-athletes only. All family members must be on the pass list prior to game day. No visiting team fans or spectators will be admitted.
A limited number of Pioneer Club tickets will be available, and Tusculum students will be admitted as long as capacity limits are not exceeded. No concessions will be available. All fans in attendance must observe social distancing and are required to wear face coverings at all times.
Live video and live stats will be available for all Tusculum home games, with links posted at TusculumPioneers.com.
