GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's lacrosse team will close out a three-game homestand on Saturday as the Pioneers welcome Limestone University to Pioneer Field. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m. between the Pioneers and the Saints, who are ranked 21st in this week's IWLCA Division II poll.
The Pioneers (3-6, 0-3 South Atlantic Conference) split two games last week, defeating Converse 23-5 on Tuesday evening before falling 13-7 to Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday. Tusculum has dropped four of its last five games and will finish the season with four of its last six contests on the road.
PROFILING THE PIONEERS
Tusculum poured on the offense in its 23-5 win over Converse on Tuesday, getting goals from nine different players and tying the program single-game record for goals which was set against Chowan in 2015 and matched against Converse in 2016. Tia Tuininga scored seven goals and had three assists for 10 points, tying her for third in program history for goals in a game and tied for second for points in a game. Tusculum outshot Converse 45-12 and led 14-4 at halftime over the Valkyries.
Tuininga leads the Pioneers with 30 goals (seventh in the SAC), 11 assists (10th in the SAC) and 41 points (sixth in the SAC) and has scored a goal in 17 straight games dating to her freshman season of 2020. She also ranks fourth in the conference with 52 shots on goal. Tuininga is two goals shy of moving into the top 10 on the single-season goals scored list at Tusculum, while her 66 career goals and 81 career points are both eighth-most in program history.
Junior Kylie Marek and sophomore Lucy Brewer are tied with 17 goals apiece for the Pioneers. Brewer has scored 10 goals in her last three games and ranks eighth in the SAC with 34 draw controls, while Marek has scored in four straight games and is one behind Brewer in draw controls with 33 (ninth in the SAC).
Senior Emily Youngblood is also in double figures in goals for the Pioneers with 14, and she has 27 draw controls to rank 15th in the conference and third on the team. Freshmen Jadyn Gleason and Kira Spaulding each netted their first career goals in the win over Converse, with Gleason scoring twice and Spaulding once. Gleason is fifth on the team with 10 draw controls.
Senior Harley Smith leads the Pioneers and ranks fifth in the conference with 25 ground balls, and is 11th in the SAC with a team-best 12 caused turnovers. Sophomore Morgan Correia has collected 17 ground balls and has six caused turnovers, junior Kamryn McNeil has 14 ground balls and four caused turnovers and grad student Bethany Thomas has seven ground balls and four caused turnovers.
In goal, senior Taylor Floyd has started the Pioneers' last six games and has a 12.48 goals against average this season, along with a .448 save percentage that is sixth in the conference. Her 65 saves are fourth-best in the league. Junior Caroline Monroe has a 12.35 goals against average in 155 minutes of play, with 24 saves and a .429 save percentage.
As a team, Tusculum is seventh in the SAC in offense at 12.22 goals per game, while ranking ninth in goals against average at 12.44. The Pioneers continue to have the best shooting accuracy in the league, putting 84.6 percent of their shot attempts on goal. The Pioneers are fifth in the league in save percentage at .443, and rank third in shooting percentage at .485.
SCOUTING THE SAINTS
Limestone (6-3, 2-1 SAC) has won three straight games following a three-game losing streak at the end of February. The Saints beat Lincoln Memorial 16-8 on the road last Saturday in just their second road game of the season. Limestone is 5-2 at home and has not allowed more than eight goals in any of its six wins.
Senior Elizabeth Muscella and junior Sarah Dudick share the team lead in goals with 33, with Dudick scoring 14 free-position goals in 31 attempts to lead the conference. The duo are tied for fourth in the conference in goals, while Muscella is fourth in the SAC in points with 43 and Dudick is eighth with 38.
Muscella has scored two or more goals in eight of the Saints' nine games, including 14 over the last three victories, while Dudick is coming off back-to-back five-goal games which give her five games of five goals or more this season. Muscella also leads the SAC in draw controls with 71, including 17 of a possible 25 against Catawba on March 16. Sophomore Bailey Stumpf is second in the SAC with 32 ground balls and leads the conference with 33 caused turnovers
The Saints have used six different goalkeepers this season, with sophomore Madelyn DeSoto having started the last four games and compiling a 9.13 goals against average and a .412 save percentage. Senior Teja Gallop started the first five games and had an 8.13 goals against average, but made just six saves on 27 shots on goal.
Limestone is fifth in the SAC in goals per game at 13.11 and ranks third in goals against average at 9.22. The Saints are last in the conference in shooting accuracy, putting just 73.5 percent of its shot attempts on target. Limestone is also last in the league in save percentage at .362.
Saturday's game will be the second all-time meeting between the Pioneers and Saints. Limestone was ranked eighth when the Saints beat the Pioneers 14-5 on the road in a non-conference game on March 22, 2017.
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.
