Lantz earns hat trick; Women’s Lacrosse blows Wasps away on Senior Day

SALISBURY, N.C. – The Catawba College women's lacrosse team, powered by its senior class, dealt a 16-5 trouncing to Emory & Henry on Saturday afternoon at Shuford Stadium, tallying its first South Atlantic Conference win of the season.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba (3-3, 1-1 SAC) took 36 shots, more than double the 16 provided by Emory & Henry (1-4, 0-3 SAC)

- On free position opportunities, the Catawba Indians took full advantage with a 6-for-9 clip as the Wasps failed to convert any of their six attempts

- The blue and white forced its opponent to commit 31 turnovers for the second consecutive game while surrendering 25 of their own

- The draw circle was largely controlled by Catawba who outnumbered the Wasps in controls 15-8

- Ava Kunza, going the distance to improve to 3-3 in goal as a rookie, made six saves compared to E&H's Kaitlyn Evans who stopped 11 shots

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Michaela Lantz tacked on three goals and three ground balls in a stellar outing for the senior attacker

- Fellow seniors Joey Baillie and Charlize Skepple, in her season debut, tallied four points with two goals and two assists apiece

- Ella McCusker, Mary Sorvillo and Emily Better also enjoyed two-goal performances to power the offense

- Meredith Marchetti and Skylar Mullin each reined in five draws, giving both midfielders their career-best marks

- Sorvillo finished atop the lineup with four ground balls as six Catawba Indians recorded three pickups apiece

- Registering her first point of the year with an assist offensively, Madison Shaffer logged a team-best four caused turnovers – tying her career high – while Marchetti nabbed three takeaways

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter

- E&H gained the first lead with an unassisted goal by Mina Hicks, followed by a Bethany Beecher score that bumped the gap to 2-0

- After getting stuffed on a free position attempt, Catawba rebounded with a dart from Skepple 5:39 into the tilt

- Skepple connected with Baillie on a bang-bang play off a free position moments later, leveling the matchup at 2-2

- Later in the period, Kylie Harris thrust the blue and white into the lead with a man-down bullet

- The Skepple-to-Baillie pipeline came through once more with five seconds left in the quarter

Second Quarter

- The Wasps were docked with two cards early in the second stanza to set up man-advantage, free position darts from Sorvillo and Mullin

- In a two-minute span, the Catawba Indians poured in four goals including back-to-back McCusker strikes to break into double figures

- A back-and-forth struggle for possession ensued, but Catawba finally established control again as Lantz put a free position screamer into the back of the net

- Successfully clearing the ball inside the final minute, Better tossed in a volley from Shaffer to make it 12-2 and institute a running clock 15 seconds before halftime

Third Quarter

- Lantz completed her hat trick 47 ticks into the second half off a kick from Baillie, adding insurance to the double-digit lead that kept the time rolling

- Eager to stop the 12-goal run, Brooklyn Halter hit the pipe and Catawba scooped up the rebound; a quick turnover saw Halter regain possession, allowing Hicks to chip in her second score of the day

- Marchetti controlled the next draw and the Catawba Indian offense took its time to strike, eventually getting a pass from Chloe Ames to Helena Cronemiller on the doorstep for a bullseye

- The Wasps failed to generate action on an extra-man opportunity, keeping the score stagnant heading into the last 15 minutes

Fourth Quarter

- Evans' second save of the frame spurred a lengthy dash down the field from E&H, resulting in Avery McHargue trimming the deficit down to 14-4

- Better responded, finding paydirt with help from Sorvillo for her fourth career blast

- Alex Costello chalked her name onto the scoresheet, scoring the Wasps' fifth goal of the afternoon with 1:27 left to play

- In the final seconds, Skepple hit the post and Lantz snagged the ground ball, dishing it to Harris who sent it to Sorvillo for one last tally as time expired

UP NEXT

Catawba heads to the High Country next Saturday, Mar. 15 for a SAC matchup with Mars Hill. Opening draw is slated for 3 p.m. at Meares Stadium.