Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan dropped the first game of the season to the Lees-McRae Bobcats in a 14-7 final on Tuesday evening.

The Warriors put up 17 shots and 13 shots on goal in the loss.  Tabitha Beecher led the team with five shots on goal in the game.  She was followed by Amy Pfefferkorn with three shots on goal and Skylar Taylor with two.  Beecher led the Warriors with four goals during the game.  Jocelyn Cosgrove posted two of the three assists.

Southern Wesleyan collected 22 ground balls with Jairy Sandoval and Kaeleigh McDaniel leading the team with six ground balls apiece.  Sandoval led the Warriors with eight of the 12 draw controls.  Kelsey Hawkins followed with two draw controls.  Sandoval caused four turnovers.  Kaeleigh McDaniel played the whole game in goal and collected 13 saves during the game.

Game Vitals

Final: Lees-McRae 14, Southern Wesleyan 7

Records: Southern Wesleyan (0-1) Lees-McRae (1-1)

Coach Schneider says…

"Tough situation.  This was supposed to be our fourth game, but it ended up being our first game.  They continued to battle with playing conditions and lighting issues.  We had some great plays at times, but overall fell short.  We have to work on consistency and playing with intensity every possible moment.  Clearly you never know when the game could end." 

How It Happened

Lees-McRae attacked down the field early, as Makayla Willets passed the ball to Haley Donovan who put it in the back of the cage to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead.  However, the Warriors regained control of the ball.  Skylar Taylor took a shot on the ball, but it went high and Amy Pfefferkorn collected the ball.  Pfefferkorn passed the ball to Tabitha Beecher who drove it to the net and put it into the net to allow the Warriors to tie the game 1-1.  The Warriors continued to push past the defense as Jairy Sandoval cleared the ball across the field to Beecher who drilled it into the game to put Southern Wesleyan ahead 2-1.  Jocelyn Cosgrove put in the third goal of the game, but the Bobcats countered with a goal by Kalbie Grassett to put the score to 2-3.  However, Amy Pfefferkorn took a pass from Cosgrove to put it in the net and extend the Warriors lead to 4-2.  Despite a third goal by Beecher, the Bobcats continued to fight back, scoring three more goals to tie the game up.  The Bobcats took the lead on a goal by Haley Donovan, however a goal by Skylar Taylor allowed Southern Wesleyan to go into the half tied at six goals apiece.

Southern Wesleyan charged out of the gate as Tabitha Beecher charged down the field to put the ball into the cage and put the Warriors ahead 7-6.  However, the Bobcats would not let up on their attacks as Beth Haynes and Kalbie Grassett took shots on goal, but Kaeleigh McDaniel got in the way of all their attacks to save the cage from attack.  The Warriors countered with shots of their own as Amy Pfefferkorn put the ball toward the cage, by Emily Davidson defended their cage to keep Southern Wesleyan from extending their lead.  Free position goals by Haley Donovan and Makayla Willets allowed the Bobcats to take an 8-7 goal advantage over Southern Wesleyan.  Lees-McRae continued to put on the pressure against Southern Wesleyan defense as they went on to win the game 14-7.

What's Next

Southern Wesleyan will next host the Erskine College Flying Fleet on February 26 at 6 p.m.  They will then travel to Converse to take on the Valkyries on February 29 at noon.  Southern Wesleyan will return to Childs Field on March 7 at noon to host Davis & Elkins.