Spartanburg, SC – Southern Wesleyan fell to the Converse Valkyries on Saturday afternoon in a 21-11 final score.
The Warriors totaled 21 shots with 17 being on goal. Lauryn Esposito led the team with nine shots on goal. Taylor Byrd followed with three shots on goal and Aleiza Manns had two shots on goal. Esposito had seven goals and both Byrd and Manns had two goals. Byrd led the team with five assists to give her seven total points in the game. Fianna Steves had two assists.
Southern Wesleyan won 18 draw controls. Fianna Steves led the team with eight draws and Lauryn Esposito had seven. The Warriors caused five turnovers and picked up 10 ground balls. Steves had four ground balls while Helen Posey had three. Caroline Lark played thirty-one minutes in goal and had six saves. Hannon Graybeal had four saves.
Game Vitals
Final: Converse 21, Southern Wesleyan 11
Records: Southern Wesleyan (1-10 / CC 1-3) Converse (6-5 / CC 2-2)
How It Happened
The Valkyries put pressure on Southern Wesleyan's defense early on as Gencie Coan collected a pass from Hailey Obenchain and put the first goal of the game in the back of the cage. Converse attacked again with a goal out of the stick of Izzy Eby. Trailing the Vakyries 5-0, Aleiza Manns won the next draw control. Manns got the ball down the field to Taylor Byrd. Byrd passed the ball around the Valkyries defense to Lauryn Esposito who sent the ball into the back of the cage for the Warriors first goal of the afternoon. The Warriors continued to attack the cage with shots by Byrd and Mack Moreau, but Reagan Collins thwarted each of Southern Wesleyan's attacks.
However, Converse continued their attacks in the second quarter as Becky Reinhard was able to score to give the Valkyries an 8-1 goal lead. Caroline Lark saved an attack by Gencie Coan. A foul in the eight meter allowed Taylor Byrd to take a free position shot. Byrd sent the ball into the cage to put the Warriors back within six. Shortly afterwards, Byrd scored her second goal of the afternoon off another free position attempt. Hailey Obenchain got past the Warriors defense to extend Converse's lead to 10-3. Lauryn Esposito attacked the cage once again, but Reagan Collins would not let her attack pay off. Southern Wesleyan trailed Converse 11-3 at halftime.
A foul in the eight meter allowed the Valkyries to kick off the third quarter with a goal of out of the stick of Becky Reinhard. Converse pushed on with back-to-back goals by Megan Holleran and Reinhard. Southern Wesleyan fought back as Fianna Steves won the draw and got the ball down the field to Lauryn Esposito. Esposito flipped the ball into the net to put the Warriors back within ten goals. Esposito collected ball again and put the ball into the cage three more times within a couple of minutes of play to put Southern Wesleyan within nine and stop the running clock situation. It was short lived as Reinhard scored a last second goal to give the Valkyries a 17-7 goal lead to regain the running clock situation.
Fianna Steves collected the ball early in the final quarter of the game. Steves passed the ball over to Lauryn Esposito who scored once again to cut the lead back down to nine. Becky Reinhard scored two more goals, but the Warriors would not relent as Taylor Byrd collected the ball with just under seven minutes left on the clock and passed it over to Aleiza Manns. Manns sent the ball into the cage. The Valkyries countered with a shot by Reinhard, but Hannon Graybeal saved the attack from paying off. Steves picked up a ground ball and raced the ball down the field. She got the ball over to Taylor Byrd who passed it over to Lauryn Esposito who scored to prevent the running clock situation. However, a goal by Gencie Coan shortly afterwards allowed the Valkyries to regain their ten goal advantage. Despite a last second free position goal by Aleiza Manns, the Warriors fell to the Valkyries in a 21-11 final score.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will return to Central, SC on March 30 as they host the Emmanuel Lions on Childs Field. They will then travel to Tigerville, SC on April 2 to take on the North Greenville Crusaders. The Warriors will welcome the Belmont Abbey to Joe R Gilbert Track and Field on April 6 at 1pm.
