Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan took down the Emory & Henry Wasps in their season opener on Saturday in an 11-9 final score.
The Warriors had 33 shots with 27 being on goal. Rinna Beth Brooker led the team with nine shots on goal. Ella McCowen and Fianna Steves each had four shots on goal. Brooker led the team with four goals while Steves, Hayley Billings and McCowen each had two goals. Lexi Richardson had two assists and Abbey Kovalcik picked up one assist.
Southern Wesleyan won 10 draw controls with Ella McCowen winning four draws. Behind McCowen, Rinna Beth Brooker won three draws. Fianna Steves caused three turnovers. Both Abbey Kovalcik and McCowen caused two turnovers. Steves led the team with nine ground balls. Right on her heels, Lexi Richardson and Brooker each picked up seven ground balls.
Freshman Ava Lombardi started in cage for the Warriors. She picked up her first career win as she played 39 minutes and accumulated nine saves. Caroline Lark and Hannon Graybeal also recorded time in cage. Lark recorded two saves in the game.
Game Vitals
Final: Southern Wesleyan 11, Emory & Henry 9
Records: Southern Wesleyan (1-0) Emory & Henry (0-1)
How It Happened
Rinna Beth Brooker won the opening draw and took the ball toward the net, but her shot went just wide to prevent the Warriors from taking the early advantage. Emory & Henry went on the attack as Avery McHargue picked up a ground ball and passed it to Justyce Jones who scored the first goal of the game for the Wasps. Their lead was short lived as Ella McCowen sent the ball into the back of the cage to not only score her first collegiate goal, but also to tie the game up. Mina Hicks went on the attack, but Ava Lombardi saved her attacks from finding the back of the cage. A foul in the eight meter allowed McCowen to take a free position shot to give the Warriors a 2-1 goal advantage. The Wasps tied the game up with just one minute left on the clock as Mina Hicks found the back of the net. With seconds left in the first quarter, Rinna Beth Brooker scored her first collegiate goal to give the Warriors the lead.
Southern Wesleyan continued to press ahead as Abbey Kovalcik flipped the ball over to Fianna Steves. Steves drove it into the back of the cage to extend the Warriors lead to 4-2. With just over ten minutes on the clock, Rinna Beth Brooker scored her second goal of the afternoon. Emory & Henry countered seconds later as Justyce Jones put the ball into the cage to cut Southern Wesleyan's lead back down to two. The Warriors continued to press as Lexi Richardson and Ella McCowen took shots on the cage, but Kaitlyn Evans prevented each attempt from finding the back of the cage. Hayley Billings scored her first collegiate goal as a foul in the eight meter allowed her to take a free position attempt. Goals by Avery McHargue and Mina Hicks put the Wasps behind the Warriors 6-5 at halftime.
Emory & Henry came out of halftime with the first draw as Mina Hicks pulled the ball down. The Wasps pressed on as Whitney Holland scored to tie the game up. Shortly afterwards, a Warriors' foul in the eight meter allowed Holland to take a free position attempt. Holland sent the ball into the back of the net once again to give Emory & Henry the lead for the first time since the first quarter. Fianna Steves passed the ball out to Aleiza Manns who raced it down the field past the Wasps defense before sending the ball into the back of the cage to tie the game up at seven. The Warriors continued their attacks with shots by Hayley Billings and Ella McCowen, but each attack was saved by Evans. Southern Wesleyan would not back down as Lexi Richardson passed the ball over to Billings. Billings found an opening and put the ball into the cage to give the Warriors the lead to end the third quarter.
Five minutes into the final quarter, Justyce Jones find the back of the cage off a pass from Mina Hicks to tie the game back up. The Warriors were not done as Fianna Steves took a shot on the cage, but Kaitlyn Evans saved the ball. As the ball rebounded back onto the field, Steves picked it up and sent it right back in to score her second goal of the game and give the Warriors a 9-8 goal lead. Southern Wesleyan pressed on as Lexi Richardson cleared the ball down the field and passed it to Rinna Beth Brooker. Brooker sent the ball into the cage to extend the Warriors lead to two. With just over two minutes on the clock, Brooker found the back of the cage again. Mina Hicks scored once more for the Wasps, but the Warriors went on to claim an 11-9 goal victory.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will open up Conference Carolinas action on February 8 as they host the University of Mount Olive Trojans at 2:30 pm. They will then travel to Mars Hill, NC on February 12 to take on the Mars Hill Lions at 6pm. The Warriors will remain on the road on February 15 to take on the UVA Wise Cavaliers.
