Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan fell to the Mars Hill Lions on Saturday afternoon in a 16-10 final score.
 
The Warriors had 26 shots and 23 shots on goal in the loss to the Lions.  Tabitha Beecher led the team with 11 shots on goal.  Beecher went on to lead the team in goals scored with five.  She was followed by Yael Echeverria with two goals.  Kelsey Hawkins recorded two of the four assists of the game.  The Warriors had 17 ground balls with Kaeleigh McDaniel collecting the most with five.  McDaniel went on to collected five of the fifteen caused turnovers.  McDaniel played all sixty minutes in goal for Southern Wesleyan, collected 15 saves in the process.
 
 
 
Game Vitals
 
Final: Mars Hill 16, Southern Wesleyan 10
 
Records: Southern Wesleyan (0-1) Mars Hill (1-0)
 
 
 
How It Happened
 
Mars Hill struck first in the lacrosse season opener as Haley Stallings put the ball into the back of the cage.  The Lions continued to press as Kiersten Foust scored to take their 2-0.  Southern Wesleyan fought back as Tabitha Beecher collected the ball and put it into the cage to cut Mars Hill's lead in half.  A second goal by Beecher allowed the Warriors to tie it up.  However, Sydney Joyce put the ball into the cage to put the Lions ahead 3-2 at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Lions charged ahead in the second quarter as they took two goals early to give them a 5-2 goal advantage.  Haylee Cureton took a shot on the goal, but Virginia Joy saved the attack to prevent the Warriors from cutting into their lead.  The Lions continued to shut out the Warriors offense as they pressed their lead to 10-2 at half.
 
Jairy Sandoval collected an early draw control in the third quarter to spark the Warriors offense in the third quarter.  Yael Echeverria then passed the ball to Kelsey Hawkins, who put it into the cage for the Warriors third goal of the game.  Echeverria was not down then scored herself seconds later to cut the Lions lead down to six goals.  The Warriors continued to chip away at the Mars Hill lead as Tabitha Beecher scored her third goal of the game to put the score at 11-6.  Back-to-back goals by Beecher and Echeverria put the Warriors down 13-8 at the end of the third quarter.
 
The Lions extended their lead to 14-8 two minutes into the final quarter as Maria Fabrizio scored off a pass from Sydney Joyce.  A foul in the eight meter allowed Haylee Cureton to take a free position shot.  Cureton's ball found the back of the cage to keep the Warriors within six.  Jocelyn Cosgrove collected the ball and scored her first goal of the game.  However, the Warriors fell to the Lions in a 16-10 final score.
 
 
What's Next
 
The Warriors will next travel to Salisbury, NC to take on the Catawba Indians on February 12.  They will remain on the road on February 18 as they travel to Young Harris, GA to take on the Mountain Lions of Young Harris College.  Southern Wesleyan will return home on February 22 to host the Truett-McConnell Bears at 5 p.m.