Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan took down the Warren Wilson Owls in the final game of the season on Friday evening in a 13-4 final score.
The Warriors picked up 42 shots with 30 being on goal in the victory over the Owls. Lauryn Esposito, Taylor Byrd and Lexi Richardson each had four shots on goal. Esposito led the team with four goals with Marley Kierstead following with two goals. Seven Warriors had solo goals with Nyah Garner, Abbey Kovalcik and Helen Posey each picking up career first goals. Taylor Byrd led the team with six of the ten assists.
Southern Wesleyan won 10 draw controls. Fianna Steves and Lauryn Esposito each won three, and Taylor Byrd won two. Marley Kierstead caused five turnovers. Right behind her, junior Mack Moreau and sophomore Abbey Kovalcik each caused four. The Warriors picked up 57 ground balls with Moreau picking up nine. Helen Posey and Fianna Steves each picked up seven. Abbey Kovalcik had six ground balls. Caroline Lark started in cage and picked up four saves.
Game Vitals
Final: Southern Wesleyan 13, Warren Wilson 4
Records: Southern Wesleyan (2-15) Warren Wilson (5-7)
How It Happened
Southern Wesleyan went on the attack quickly as Fianna Steves caused Isabella Mizzoni to turn the ball over right after the draw. Maree Hernandez, Abbey Kovalcik and Mack Moreau sent shots to the cage, but goalkeeper Hayden Drescher saved the attacks from paying off. Four minutes into the first quarter, the Warriors attacks paid off as Lauryn Esposito sent the ball into the back of the cage to put the Warriors on the board. They pushed on as just over a minute later Marley Kierstead passed the ball back to Esposito. Esposito flipped the ball into the cage to extend Southern Wesleyan's lead to 2-0. However, Isabella Mizzoni took advantage of a man-up situation to score the Owls first goal of the game. With just over eight minutes left on the clock, the Warriors cleared the ball down the field. Mack Moreau got the ball back to Lauryn Esposito who sent it back into the cage for her sixtieth goal of the season. Taylor Byrd got the ball over to Abbey Kovalcik. Kovalcik got the ball past the defense and into the cage for her career first goal. Southern Wesleyan continued to pepper the cage, as a shot by Mack Moreau went wide. However, Taylor Byrd secured the ground ball and sent it over to Fianna Steves who scored Southern Wesleyan's fifth goal. Steves took another shot on the goal, but Hayden Drescher was able to save the attack. The Owls tried to clear the ball down the field, but Abbey Kovalcik caused them to turn it over and Mack Moreau picked up the ground ball. Moreau sent the ball down the field to Taylor Byrd who passed it in to Marley Kierstead. Kierstead flipped it into the cage to extend the warriors lead to 6-1 with just over four minutes left on the clock. Byrd and Kierstead repeated the exact same play to put the Warriors ahead by six. A foul in the eight meter allowed Aleiza Manns to score off a free position shot and then Lexi Richardson put the ball in the cage with under a minute on the clock. A last second goal by Taylor Byrd allowed the Warriors to lead 10-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Southern Wesleyan continued to pressure the Owls defense in the second quarter as Lexi Richardson drove the ball to the cage, but her attack was thwarted by Hayden Drescher. Helen Posey took a shot, but it hit the post, and then Alexa Simpson's shot went wide to keep the Warriors from extending on their lead. The quarter remained scoreless, but with just over five minutes left in the quarter the Warriors' attacks intensified as Abbey Kovalcik and Mack Moreau attacked the cage one after another. Hayden Drescher and the Owls defense stood strong to prevent the attacks from landing. Taylor Byrd collected a ground ball and quickly passed it over to Lauryn Esposito who put it into the cage for her fourth goal of the evening.
Warren Wilson put up the first shot on goal in the third quarter as Stephanie Quiroa sent the ball toward the cage, but Caroline Lark collected it with ease to allow the Warriors to keep the clock running. With just over nine minutes on the clock, Taylor Byrd passed the ball inside the eight meter to Nyah Garner. Garner got the ball past Drescher for her career first goal to extend Southern Wesleyan's lead to 12-1. Taylor Smith scored to keep the Owls within ten goals of the Warriors. However, with less than a minute on the clock, Lauryn Esposito passed the ball over to freshman Helen Posey. Posey got the ball into the cage for her first career goal with the Warriors.
The Warriors attacked again in the fourth quarter as Maree Hernandez and S'Moriyah Rice each sent the ball toward the cage, but the Owl defense thwarted each attack. Isabella Mizzoni got the ball over to her teammate Stephanie Quiroa who sent the ball into the cage. Rice and Maree Hernandez countered with shots of their own, but each of their attacks were deterred by the Owls defense. Lexi Richardson cleared the ball down the field and attacked the cage, but Hayden Drescher prevented her shot on goal from paying off once again. With just under a minute on the clock, Callie Aerni scored for Warren Wilson. However the Warriors were able to claim the victory as they took down the Owls in a 13-4 final score.
