GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tia Tuininga matched her season and career high with seven goals as Tusculum University defeated Coker University 21-7 in South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
Lucy Brewer scored four goals, Kylie Marek had three goals and two assists and Kamryn McNeil added two goals and three assists for the Pioneers (4-8, 1-5 SAC), who held the Cobras to four shots in the second half after building a 12-5 halftime lead. Tusculum did not allow a shot in the third quarter while the Pioneers scored seven times in the period.
Annabelle Chuilli and Meagan Gallagher scored two goals apiece for the Cobras (1-11, 0-7 SAC), who were just 1-for-9 on free-position shots and committed 23 turnovers. Coker was 7-for-10 on clears and had just 13 ground balls as a team to 22 for Tusculum in a match played in blustery conditions with several snow squalls during the course of play.
Tuininga tied her season high of seven goals set against Converse on March 15, scoring twice in each of the first three quarters and adding her seventh with 7:02 left. Tusculum also received two goals and an assist from Emily Youngblood and one goal apiece from Jessica Spiegel and Natalie Dagley in the victory.
The Pioneers raced to a 6-0 lead after 11 1/2 minutes as Brewer and Tuininga scored twice apiece and Marek and McNeil also scored. The Cobras got on the board with two goals in the final minute of the first quarter from Chuilli and Gallagher to pull within 6-2 after a quarter.
Tusculum built its lead to 9-2 in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the second quarter on goals from Tuininga, Spiegel and Dagley, but Gallagher interrupted the run for the Cobras with her second of the day with 10:53 left in the half. The Pioneers scored a rare own goal as the Cobra defense tried to sweep a loose ball to keeper Abby Kellner, but put it past her into the net with 9:27 left until half. The teams would trade goals over the final 7 1/2 minutes of the half as Tusculum carried a 12-5 lead to intermission.
The third quarter was all Tusculum as Tuininga and Youngblood scored twice, along with goals from McNeil, Marek and Brewer to go up 19-5 after three quarters. Coker turned the ball over on each of its first seven possessions of the quarter, and did not have control of the ball for a stretch of more than seven minutes until winning a draw control in the final minute.
Coker broke its drought on a goal from Chuilli early in the fourth quarter, followed by a goal from Amariah Lawson with 9:30 left. Tusculum closed the scoring as Tuininga netted her seventh with 7:02 remaining and Brewer capped the scoring with 44 seconds to go.
Tusculum finished with 13 caused turnovers as a team, led by Leighann Yudin who had a career-high five caused turnovers. Brewer added three and Bethany Thomas had two for the Pioneers, who received seven draw controls from Tuininga and three from Marek. Yudin and Brewer shared the team lead in ground balls with four, with three from Spiegel.
Madeline Hart, who led Coker with three assists on offense, had a game-high eight draw controls for the Cobras while Lawson had seven to go with three ground balls.
Taylor Floyd finished with eight saves in goal for the Pioneers, while Kellner had nine stops for the Cobras. Five of Floyd's saves came in the first quarter, as she faced just two shots on goal in the second half from the Cobras.
Tusculum celebrated Senior Day prior to the game and honored eight members of the women's lacrosse program. Among them were Megann McKinney and Kate Pipkin, who are sidelined for the remainder of the season. After being saluted by their teammates, McKinney was on the field for the opening draw before departing, and Pipkin started the second half in goal and was removed after the draw was controlled.
The Pioneers will travel to Lincoln Memorial to face the Railsplitters on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Lincoln Memorial is in fifth place in the SAC with a 4-3 league record and 9-5 overall, following a 25-5 loss to top-ranked Queens on Saturday.
