Women’s Lacrosse upended by Tusculum in SAC opener

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – The Catawba College women's lacrosse team battled early but fell short in its first South Atlantic Conference matchup of the season at Tusculum, 11-6, on Saturday afternoon.

TEAM STATS

- Tusculum (4-2, 1-0 SAC) launched 32 shots – 13 in the first quarter alone – with 21 on net compared to Catawba's (2-2, 0-1 SAC) 21 total attempts with 16 directed on target

- In free position opportunities, the hosts found paydirt on 5-of-10 as Catawba managed a 3-for-8 conversion rate

- The Catawba Indians lost the turnover battle 20-19 while tying Tusculum in ground balls at 22 apiece

- Catawba was more efficient on the clear at 15-for-18 against the Pioneers' 15-for-24

- Ava Kunza made 10 stops on 21 shots faced (.476) while Tusculum's Emily White denied 10 of the 16 chances (.625)

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Abby Shuren led Catawba's five goal scorers with two darts, marking her 10th career multi-goal game

- Mary Sorvillo found the back of the net once while picking up three ground balls and logging a caused turnover

- Joey Baillie, Skylar Mullin and Kylie Harris rounded out the Catawba scoring with one goal apiece

- Harris and Audrey Adelsberger paced the Catawba Indians in draw controls at five and four, respectively

- Allison Filosa was dominant on defense with team highs of four ground balls and three caused turnovers, notching a career high in takeaways

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter

- Adelsberger took the opening draw and Catawba charged, drawing a foul to set up a free position shot; Baillie fired a dart into the twine just 27 seconds after the first whistle

- The Pioneers slipped ahead on goals from Elisha Stack and Liberty Jones in the following two minutes

- The Catawba Indians, capitalizing on a turnover forced by Ella McCusker, tendered a quick response from Harris to even the score at 2-2

- A three-goal spurt from Tusculum created a 5-2 lead with five minutes left in the period as Kunza saved two more Pioneer shots to keep the gap stagnant

Second Quarter

- Freshmen defenders Emily Better, Hannah Abel and Filosa added caused turnovers in a quiet start to the quarter

- Mullin halted a 14-minute scoring drought from both teams, bouncing in a straightaway free position attempt

- After TU's Mya Halladay had a shot saved by Kunza, she collected the rebound and drew a foul, converting the free position to retain a three-goal edge

- Shuren etched her name onto the ledger, snatching up a tipped pass before shooting and scoring her seventh goal of the year

- Nina Tantillo added a blast eight seconds before halftime for a 7-4 Tusculum lead through 30 minutes

Third Quarter

- Mackenzie Sherrod extended the Pioneer advantage to 8-4 shortly after the break

- White shut the door on Catawba twice in three seconds as she stopped Deal's free position shot and another attempt off the rebound

- A Catawba Indian timeout allowed the visitors to regroup and draw a foul, setting up Sorvillo to send in a free position strike

- Following two more stops by White, the blue and white were hit with a green card to put TU at a man advantage; Jessie Carolin-Vandenberg leveraged the power play and netted an eight-meter goal

Fourth Quarter

- Despite being pestered by the Catawba defense early in the fourth stanza, Tusculum also aggravated the visitors' offense into saved shots and miscues

- Stack and Jones went back-to-back with scores midway through the period, stretching Catawba's deficit to six

- White and Kunza traded saves in quick succession, but Shuren got a shot through the pipes after getting stopped two minutes prior

- The Pioneers prevented Catawba from creating meaningful offense in the last 3:08, wrapping up the 11-6 decision to start SAC play

UP NEXT

Catawba hosts non-conference foe Gannon on Wednesday, Mar. 5 for the 2025 home opener. The match is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start at Shuford Stadium.