GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Coming off their first win of the 2022 season, the Tusculum University women's lacrosse team returns to the road on Saturday to face Lees-McRae College in their lone match of the week. First draw from Banner Elk, North Carolina is scheduled for 3 p.m.
The Pioneers (1-2) beat Chowan 18-8 in their home opener on Saturday, scoring nine goals in the first quarter to take a 9-1 lead after 15 minutes of play. Kylie Marek led the Pioneers with four goals and three assists, with four goals apiece from Emily Youngblood and Megann McKinney. Tusculum outshot Chowan 31-26 as seven different players scored a goal for the Pioneers.
The victory came after a 13-7 loss at North Greenville on Wednesday evening, which saw the Pioneers receive three goals and an assist from Youngblood. Caroline Monroe finished with 10 saves in goal for the Pioneers against the Crusaders, who outshot the Pioneers 27-24 and went 5-for-9 on free-position shots.
PROFILING THE PIONEERS
Marek leads the Pioneers with 10 points on six goals and four assists in three matches. She is tied for the team lead with 13 draw controls and has put 10 of her 11 shot attempts on goal. Youngblood has a team-high eight goals for the Pioneers and nine points, and is third on the team with 10 draw controls. Tia Tuininga has seven goals and two assists for nine points through three matches, and she has scored two or more goals in 13 of her 16 career matches.
Both McKinney and Lucy Brewer each have four goals and an assist for five points, with Brewer sharing the team lead with Marek with 13 draw controls which is tied for fourth in the South Atlantic Conference. Natalie Dagley and Jessica Spiegel each have two goals and an assist for the Pioneers.
Tusculum's defense is led by Harley Smith, who has nine ground balls to rank seventh in the SAC along with four caused turnovers in the Pioneers' first three games. Kamryn McNeil has six ground balls and three caused turnovers, and Morgan Correia has added two ground balls and three caused turnovers on defense for the Pioneers.
Monroe has started each of the Pioneers' three matches in goal, and has made 19 saves in 110 minutes, 25 seconds of action. Taylor Floyd has played 69 minutes, 35 seconds across two matches and has collected 16 saves for a .571 save percentage which ranks fourth in the SAC.
The Pioneers are seventh in the SAC in scoring at 11.0 goals per game, and ninth in the conference in goals against at 13.33 per game. Tusculum ranks fourth in the conference in draw controls per game at 13.33 and sixth in save percentage at 46.7 percent.
SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Lees-McRae fell to 0-3 with a 17-2 loss at Lincoln Memorial on Tuesday afternoon. The Bobcats also dropped a 17-1 decision to UVA Wise on Feb. 15, and opened the season with a 15-14 overtime loss at Montreat. Saturday's game will be the home opener for the Bobcats, who were 1-3 at Tate Field last season.
Shannan Korovich leads the Bobcats with six goals and two assists in two games, with Kalbie Grassett adding five goals and two assists. Genesis Lutsky and Nim Castro each have a pair of goals for the Bobcats, who have been outscored 49-17 in three games.
Grassett leads the Bobcats' defense with seven ground balls and six caused turnovers, along with 11 draw controls. McKenzie Mellen has added eight ground balls and five caused turnovers. The Bobcats have caused 25 turnovers in their first three games, but have turned the ball over a whopping 84 times of which 48 were caused by the opposing defense.
In goal, Emily Davidson has started all three matches for the Bobcats, making 22 saves and recording a 12.38 goals against average. Mellen has played 61 minutes in a backup role and has 10 saves on 43 shots faced.
As a team, the Bobcats have 35 draw controls in three matches to 42 for their opponents. Lees-McRae is clearing at a 55.7 percent rage (39-for-70) and has five successful free-position goals on 16 attempts.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Tusculum is 3-0 all-time against Lees-McRae and will be making their first-ever visit to Banner Elk, after earning home wins in 2016, 2018 and most recently on March 21, 2019 by a 17-10 score.
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.
