GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Anderson University defeated Tusculum University 15-11 in South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
The Trojans (4-4, 3-0 SAC) trailed by two goals midway through the second quarter, but took the lead by halftime and held off the Pioneers (5-6, 1-4 SAC) in the second half.
Ava Skeffington had four goals and an assist for Anderson, while Megan Muir stuffed the stat sheet with three goals and two assists along with 11 ground balls, six caused turnovers and four draw controls. Anderson outshot Tusculum 34-18 in the match and had a 28-14 advantage in ground balls over the Pioneers.
Sophia Didzbalis scored three goals for the Pioneers and Elisha Stack had two goals and three assists, all in the first quarter. Jessie Carolin-Vandenberg scored two goals with a goal and an assist apiece for Cassidy Bourne and Mya Halladay. Kayla Nuccio and Zuza Stasiak also scored goals for the Pioneers in the loss.
Tusculum led 3-1 after five minutes on two goals from Stack and one from Didzbalis, and the Pioneers carried a 5-3 lead into the second quarter. Anderson tied the game at 6-6 on a goal from Skeffington with 9:49 left in the first half, and scored three straight goals in the final four minutes of the period to build a 9-7 lead at intermission.
Anderson built its lead to 12-8 after three quarters as the Pioneers were limited to a goal from Carolin-Vandenberg with 9:50 to play in the third period. The teams would exchange goals through the fourth quarter, with Bourne beating the clock as time expired to set the final score.
Halladay had six draw controls and Stasiak added four for the Pioneers, while Sofia Rositano had a team-high five ground balls. Edie Wilkins led Anderson with six draw controls, but the Pioneers finished the game with a 15-13 advantage on draws.
Tusculum was charged with 21 turnovers and went 12-for-16 on clears, while Anderson had 17 turnovers and went 15-for-20 on clears. The Trojans were 6-for-13 on free-position shots while the Pioneers were 3-for-5 as a team.
Emily White finished with nine saves in goal for the Pioneers, moving her into second place in program history with 336 and just four behind the record of 340 set by Kate Pipkin from 2018-21. Amelia King made five saves in goal for Anderson.
Tusculum will be back in action in one week, when the Pioneers visit Mars Hill for a noon start on Saturday, March 29. The Lions (2-6, 1-3 SAC) play at Coker on Sunday at 3 p.m.
