SPARTANBURG, S.C. --- Cassidy Bourne scored her fourth goal of the game 1:31 into overtime as Tusculum University rallied from a five-goal deficit in the final 8 1/2 minutes to defeat Converse University 14-13 in non-conference women's lacrosse Monday evening.
The Pioneers (2-1) trailed 13-8 when Bourne scored with 8:03 left to trigger Tusculum's second straight fourth-quarter rally. Tusculum came from three goals down in the final five minutes to force overtime on Friday against Montevallo, but gave up the winning goal late in the first extra period.
Goals from Kayla Nuccio and Liberty Jones brought the Pioneers within 13-11 with 5:29 left, and a goal from Mackenzie Sherrod cut the Converse lead to 13-12 with 4:32 remaining. Jones scored with 2:49 to play to tie the game at 13-13, and Tusculum keeper Emily White made a save in the final seconds to send the match to overtime.
Tusculum never lost possession in the extra period, as Mya Halladay controlled the opening draw and the Pioneers set up on offense. With the shot clock winding down, Bourne rolled to the front of the cage and fired home the first-ever overtime goal in program history.
Jones had three goals and Zuza Stasiak and Sherrod scored twice apiece for the Pioneers, who outshot the Valkyries (0-4) by a 33-27 margin. Kayla Nuccio and Halladay each had a goal and an assist and Sophia Didzbalis also scored for the Pioneers in the victory.
Becky Reinhard led Converse with four goals and Hailey Obenchain had two goals and three assists along with 11 draw controls for the Valkyries, who also received two goals apiece from Karter Lauer and Gencie Coan.
Neither team scored for the first 8 1/2 minutes until Lauer opened the scoring for Converse with 6:33 left in the opening quarter. Bourne responded with a goal just 49 seconds later, but two goals from Coan pushed the Valkyries ahead 3-1 with 1:55 to play in the quarter. Bourne got her second of the game 23 seconds after Coan's second goal to bring Tusculum within 3-2 after one quarter.
Converse scored four of the first five goals in the second quarter to go ahead 7-3 with 8:08 to play in the half, but the Pioneers came back to within 7-6 at halftime on goals from Stasiak, Halladay and Didzbalis in the final 4 1/2 minutes.
A goal from Sherrod in the first minute of the third quarter tied the game at 7-7, but the Valkyries would score six of the next seven goals to take their largest lead of the night at 13-8 following a goal from Izzy Eby with 11:18 left. Tusculum's defense would take over, as Converse had six straight turnovers during the Pioneers' game-tying run. After Jones knotted the score at 13-13, White stepped up and made two saves in the final three minutes, while another Converse shot hit the post with 21 seconds to go.
Halladay finished with a team-high seven draw controls and four ground balls along with a pair of caused turnovers for the Pioneers, while Stasiak had four draw controls and a pair of caused turnovers. Samantha Sparks led the Converse defense with three ground balls along with five caused turnovers.
White finished with 10 saves in goal for the Pioneers, with 12 saves for Converse keeper Reagan Collins. Converse was 3-for-4 on free-position shots, while Tusculum was just 3-for-12 as a team.
The Valkyries finished with a 17-14 advantage on draws and a 20-15 edge in ground balls, while Converse had 27 turnovers to 21 for Tusculum. The Pioneers were 16-for-21 on clears, and the Valkyries were 17-for-25 as a team.
Tusculum will host Lee on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 3 p.m. at Pioneer Field. The Flames are off to an 0-2 start with losses to UVA Wise (11-7) and Wingate (13-8).
