Salisbury, NC – Southern Wesleyan fell to the Catawba Indians on the road on Saturday afternoon in a 13-4 final score.
The Warriors took 10 shots with nine being on target in the loss to the Indians. Both Caelyn Little and Fianna Steves had three shots on cage. Little and Ella McCowen each had two goals in the game.
Southern Wesleyan won seven draw controls. Fianna Steves led the team with three draws while Ella McCowen was right behind her with two draws won. Of the seven caused turnovers, Steves picked up two. McCowen, Ava Lombardi and Helen Posey each had three ground balls awarded to them. Lombardi played all sixty minutes in the cage and had eight saves in the game.
Game Vitals
Final: Catawba 13, Southern Wesleyan 4
Records: Southern Wesleyan (0-2) Catawba (2-0)
How It Happened
The Indians were first on the board as a foul in the eight meter allowed Ava Stanza to score a goal off a free position attempt. Catawba extended their lead as Mary Sorvillo got the ball into the back of the cage. Ava Lombardi thwarted the next attack on the cage by Skylar Mullin. Southern Wesleyan answered the Indians attacks as Caelyn Little got around the defense and flipped the ball into the cage to cut Catawba's lead in half. However, Catawba regained their two goal advance as Abby Shuren passed the ball over to Layne Macknik. Macknik got the ball into the cage to put the Indians on top 3-1.
Catawba pressed on early in the second quarter as Skylar Mullin, Emily Better and Mary Sorvillo each scored to put them ahead by five with just over eleven minutes left in the quarter. After the Indians' Audrey Adelsberger received a green card, the Warriors charged down the field. Caelyn Little took the ball and sent it into the back of the cage for her second goal of the afternoon. Fianna Steves won the next draw control and took the ball down the field. Steves looked for her first goal of the game as she sent the ball in toward the cage, but Ashlea Nieland was there to prevent her shot from finding the net. Shortly afterwards, a foul in the eight meter allowed Ella McCowen to take a free position shot. McCowen got the ball past Nieland for a goal to put the Warriors back within three goals of the Indians. Catawba scored twice more to take an 8-3 goal lead at halftime.
The Indians scored first in the third quarter as Maddie Fox scored off a pass form Kylie Harris. Southern Wesleyan challenged back as Fianna Steves looked for the net once again. However, once again Ashlea Nieland was there to save the ball from finding the back of the net. Steves continued to attack the cage, but Nieland would not let her attacks find the net. Mary Sorvillo got the ball over to Madison Widecki. Widecki got the ball into the back of the cage to give Catawba a seven goal advantage.
Catawba continued where they left off in the final quarter of the match as Maddie Fox scored the Indians eleventh goal of the game. The Indians continued to look to extend their lead as Madison Widecki and Lizzie McCann took shots on the cage. However, Ava Lombardi was there to thwart each of their attacks. Layne Macknik passed the ball over to Skylar Mullin. Mullin got the ball into the cage to give the Indians a 12-3 goal advantage. The Warriors looked to cut into the Indians lead as Caelyn Little took a shot on the cage, but the ball flew just wide of the net. Little took another shot on the cage, but once again Ashlea Nieland was there to save the ball. In the final seconds of the game, Ella McCowen picked up a ground ball and quickly fired it into the goal. However, the Warriors ended up falling to the Indians in a 13-4 final score.
What's Next
Southern Wesleyan will host their home opener on February 21 as they welcome Colorado State University Pueblo to Central, SC. They will then host the Mars Hill Lions on February 25. The Warriors will travel to Cleveland, TN on February 27 to take on the Lee Flames.
