Due West, SC – Southern Wesleyan flew by the Erskine Flying Fleet on Saturday as they claimed their second Conference Carolinas victory of the season in a 16-4 final score.

The Warriors recorded 40 shots and 33 shots on goal in the victory over the Flying Fleet.  Tabitha Beecher led the team with 13 shots and 11 shots on goal.  Beecher was followed by Amy Pfefferkorn and Betsy Bovee each with six shots and five shots on goal.  Beecher led the team with seven goals.  She was followed by Haylee Cureton with three goals.  Both Pfefferkorn and Jocelyn Cosgrove led the team with two assists apiece.

Southern Wesleyan had 16 draw controls during the game with senior Jairy Sandoval leading the team with 11.  The Warriors had 15 ground balls with Sandoval leading the team with four.  Cureton, Cosgrove and Kelsey Hawkins followed with two ground balls.  Sandoval caused four turnovers.  Kaeleigh McDaniel played all sixty minutes in the goal, collecting eight saves while only allowing four goals.
 

Game Vitals

Final: Southern Wesleyan 16, Erskine 4

Records: Southern Wesleyan (2-4 / CC 2-1) Erskine (0-4 / CC 0-4)

 
Coach Schneider says…

"Overall we played well.  Started a little off, but I think some of it was due to getting adjusted to the heat.  Then once we were able to settle in, run our plays, and set up defense correctly, we made adjustments to be effective.  Tabitha Beecher had a great game.  And Haylee Cureton played well on both sides of the field.  She even got a hat trick!  Which was great for her.  Offense handled the ball well.  And defense was able to apply pressure and stop the ball when needed."


 
How It Happened

Southern Wesleyan struck first in the first half of the game as Tabitha Beecher scored her first goal of the game before the first five minutes of the game had passed.  The Warriors maintained the attack with shots by Beecher and Jocelyn Cosgrove, but neither shot reached the back of the cage.  With just under eighteen minutes left in the first half, Beecher passed the ball up to Cosgrove who flipped the ball into the cage to put the Warriors on top 2-0.  Erskine countered with a goal by Faith Flanagan, but a second goal by Beecher kept the Warriors on top by two goals.  A foul in the eight meters allowed Beecher to score her third goal of the game off a free position attempt to put the Warriors lead at 4-2.  Amy Pfefferkorn passed the ball over to Kelsey Hawkins.  Hawkins got it around the Erskine defense to put the Warriors on top by three goals.  With just under nine minutes left to play, Jairy Sandoval scored her first goal of the season to push Southern Wesleyan ahead 6-2.  Back-to-back goals by Beecher allowed the Warriors to lead 8-2 at the half.

The Warriors maintained the offensive in the second half of the game.  Pfefferkorn started the Warriors off with a goal with just over twenty-four minutes left to play.  Haylee Cureton scored her first goal of the game to push the Warriors ahead 10-2.  The Warriors maintained the attack as Beecher put the ball into the cage for her sixth goal.  Southern Wesleyan would not let up the attack as freshman Rebecca Fetters passed the ball over to Cureton for her to put it into the cage to allow the Warriors to extend their lead to a ten goal lead.  The Warriors maintained the attack with shots by Sandoval, Betsy Bovee and Cureton, but Mackenzie Myers and the Flying Fleet defense stayed strong to keep Southern Wesleyan from extended their lead even further.  Cureton's third goal put the Warriors up by eleven, but Erskine countered with their third goal of the game off a free position attempt by Aleiza Manns kept the Flying Fleet within ten.  Southern Wesleyan would not be discouraged as Pfefferkorn, Beecher and Cosgrove all scored back-to-back goals to give the Warriors a 16-4 goal victory over the Flying Fleet.

 
What's Next

Southern Wesleyan will next hit the road to Belmont, NC to take on the Belmont Abbey Crusaders on March 20 at 1 p.m.  They will then welcome the Converse Valkyries to Childs Field on March 25 at 7 p.m.  They will remain at home on March 30 to take on the Newberry College Wolves in non-conference action at 6 p.m.