Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan picked up their first Conference Carolinas victory of the season as they took down the Chowan Hawks in a 17-12 final score on Saturday.

The Warriors picked up 30 shots with 24 being on goal in the victory over the Hawks.  Lauryn Esposito led the team with 17 shots and 14 shots on goal.  Esposito recorded 10 goals.  Behind her, Anita Renee Rhodes had a hat trick and Jocelyn Cosgrove scored two goals.  Yael Echeverria led the team with six of the twelve assists.  Cosgrove followed with four assists.

Jocelyn Cosgrove led the Warriors in draw controls with six.  Behind her, Yael Echeverria won four draws and Fianna Steves had three.  Southern Wesleyan gathered 30 ground balls.  Caroline Lark led the team with eight ground balls with Steves following her with five.  The Warriors caused 16 turnovers with Steves leading the team with four.  Lark went on to play all sixty minutes in goal and collected 15 saves.
 


 
 
Game Vitals

Final: Southern Wesleyan 17, Chowan 12

Records: Southern Wesleyan (2-4 / CC 1-2) Chowan (0-7 / CC 0-3)


 
 
 
Coach Schneider says…

"It was a great team win today.  All week we have focused on controlling our emotions and hustling through everything.  Lauryn came up big time with her goals.  She set a new school record for points per game with 10 goals and two assists.  Joc and YoYo have been huge on offense as well by being able to control the ball under pressure and finding our open cutters.  Fifa was all over the place today with draw controls, ground balls, caused turnovers and even a goal.  On defense, Caroline had an incredible game with 15 saves.  I'm so proud of how our defense fought and had some great stops.  Excited to see how we continue to improve each game!"
 
 




 
How It Happened

The Hawks attacked quickly as Jayla Washington and Trinity Walker each took shots on the goal, but neither attack paid off.  Chowan would not relent as Victoria Brown collected the ball and put it into the cage to give the Hawks the early lead.  However, they Warriors fought back as Lauryn Esposito collected passes by Yael Echeverria to score back-to-back goals and put Southern Wesleyan ahead by one.  Southern Wesleyan continued to pepper the cage as Anita Renee Rhodes and Echeverria took shots on the goal, but Patrica Meador stood strong in the cage to prevent the Warriors from extending their lead.  Esposito flipped the ball over the net to Anita Renee Rhodes who put it into the cage to put the Warriors up 3-1 with three minutes left in the quarter.  Chowan pressured the defense with shots by Gracie Timken and Victoria Brown, but Caroline Lark saved their attacks from paying off.

Chowan carried on their attacks in the second quarter as Naila Smith scored off a pass from Sarai Reyes-Roman.  The Warriors were not discouraged as Jocelyn Cosgrove got the ball over to Anita Renee Rhodes.  Rhodes put the ball into the back of the cage to allow Southern Wesleyan to regain their two goal advantage.  The Hawks pushed on as Reyes-Roman and Victoria Brown took shots, but Caroline Lark saved their attacks from finding the back of the cage.  Chowan continued to put up a fight as Cameryn Barrow and Grace Taylor scored to tie the game up 4-4.  Brown scored her second goal of the game to put the Hawks ahead by one.  Yael Echeverria passed the ball over to Lauryn Esposito who put it into the cage to tie the game up 5-5 at halftime.

The Hawks struck first in the third quarter as Victoria Brown scored to allow Chowan to gain the lead once more.  The lead was short lived as Lauryn Esposito put the ball into the cage once again.  Chowan struck again, but the Warriors would not relent their own attacks as Anita Renee Rhodes scored her third goal of the game.  Brown scored the eighth goal for the Hawks.  The Warriors continued to challenge Chowan as Yael Echeverria flipped the ball over to Jocelyn Cosgrove who put it into the cage.  A foul in the eight meter allowed Lauryn Esposito to take a free position shot.  Esposito put the ball into the cage to allow the Warriors to regain the lead.  Cosgrove passed the ball over to Esposito who put it into the cage once again to allow Southern Wesleyan to regain their two goal advantage.  The Hawks pushed on as they scored three goals in a row to lead 11-10 at the end of the third quarter.

Lauryn Esposito collected the ball and raced down the field and put the ball into the cage to tie the game back up.  Southern Wesleyan continued to press as Yael Echeverria flipped the ball over to Lauryn Esposito to put it into the cage.  Echeverria repeated the attack as she passed the ball back to Esposito to score and extend the Warriors lead to 13-11.  A foul in the eight meter allowed Esposito to take another free position attempt.  Esposito put the ball into the cage to give the Warriors a three goal lead.  Chowan challenged as Naila Smith took a shot, but Caroline Lark saved the attack from meeting the back of the cage.  With the Warriors' man-up, Jocelyn Cosgrove scored to push the Warriors lead up to four.  Fianna Steves collected a pass from Cosgrove and put it into the back of the cage for her first goal of the afternoon.  Another foul in the eight meter allowed Yael Echeverria to take a free position attempt.  She put it into the goal for the Warriors' seventeenth goal of the afternoon.  Chowan challenged with a last second free position goal, but Southern Wesleyan went on to claim a 17-12 goal victory.
 



 
 
What's Next

Southern Wesleyan will travel to Franklin Springs, GA on March 25 to take on the Emmanuel College Lions at 6 p.m.  They will then return to Childs Field on April 1 to host the North Greenville Crusaders at 1 p.m.  The Warriors will host the Truett-McConnell Bears on April 1 at 5 p.m.  They will remain at home on April 7 as they welcome the University of Mount Olive Trojans to Childs Field for a noon draw.