Central, SC – Southern Wesleyan took down the Ferrum Panthers on Saturday afternoon in a 17-8 final score.

The Warriors totaled 40 shots with 29 being on target against the Panthers.  Taylor Townsend led the team with nine shots on the goal.  Townsend and Alexa Simpson each had five goals in the game.  Ella McCowen recorded four goals in the game and Hayley Billings had three.  Both Townsend and Caelyn Little had four assists.

Southern Wesleyan won 15 draws in the win with both Fianna Steves and Ella McCowen winning six draws apiece.  Of the 46 ground balls in the game, Steves picked up nine ground balls.  Taylor Townsend picked up seven ground balls.  Steves continued her impressive game as she caused 11 turnovers during the game to set a new school record.  Amanda Erikson played all sixty minutes in the cage and collected eight saves.

Game Vitals

Final: Southern Wesleyan 17, Ferrum 8

Records: Southern Wesleyan (3-9 / CC 2-4) Ferrum (2-11 / CC 0-5)

How It Happened

The Warriors went on the attack early on as Emily Gregg passed the ball over to Taylor Townsend.  Townsend flipped the ball into the cage to give the Warriors a 1-0 goal lead.  A foul in the eight meter allowed Alexa Simpson to take a free position attempt.  Simpson got the ball into the cage.  The Warriors continued to attack the Panthers' defense as Taylor Townsend put up a shot, but Faith Feazell was able to knock the ball away.  With just over two minutes left on the clock, Lana Barkovic put up the first goal of the game for Ferrum.  Micaiyah Dickerson scored off a pass from Barkovic to allow Ferrum to tie the game up at two.

Southern Wesleyan would not relent their attacks though as Taylor Townsend got the ball over to Hayley Billings.  Billings got the ball into the cage to allow the Warriors to regain the lead.  Caleyn Little and Townsend put up several more shots, but Faith Feazell and the Panthers' defense were able to prevent each attack from finding the back of the cage.  Southern Wesleyan's attacks paid off as Billings and Ella McCowen scored back-to-back goals for the Warriors.  Ferrum got a couple more goals.  In the final seconds of the half, Ella McCowen took the ball down the field and flipped it into the cage to put the Warriors on top 7-4 at halftime.

The Warriors picked up from where they left off in the third quarter as Hayley Billings got the ball over to Alexa Simpson.  Simpson sent the ball into the back of the cage for her second goal of the game.  Fianna Steves pulled down the next draw and quickly got the ball down the field.  Southern Wesleyan extended their lead to five with just over thirteen minutes on the clock as Simpson scored once again.  A foul in the eight meter sent Ella McCowen to the eight meter.  McCowen scored to put the Warriors lead at 10-4 with just under twelve minutes left in the quarter.  Ferrum was able to cut the Warriors lead back down to five off a free position goal by Micaiyah Dickerson.  However, the Warriors fought back as Taylor Townsend scored off a pass from Simpson.  Southern Wesleyan continued to pepper the cage with shots as Townsend attacked the net several times, but Faith Feazell was there to save the ball from finding the cage.  Simpson and Townsend scored a couple more goals before the Panthers were able to score twice more.

Ferrum kicked off the final quarter with shots by Makaila Veney and Micaiyah Dickerson, but Amanda Erikson and the Warriors' defense thwarted each of the Panthers attacks.  Southern Wesleyan answered with attacks of their own.  Hayley Billings collected a pass from Caelyn Little and flipped the ball into the cage.  Seconds later, Taylor Townsend was able to get the ball into the cage once more to extend the Warriors lead to eight goals.  Fianna Steves picked up a ground ball and quickly got the ball up to Ella McCowen.  McCowen flicked the ball past the Panthers and into the cage.  The Panthers answered as Dickerson scored another goal for Ferrum.  With just under nine minutes on the clock, Alexa Simpson scored her fifth goal of the game to allow the Warriors to take a 17-8 goal victory over the Panthers.

What's Next

Southern Wesleyan will hit the road to Belmont, NC on March 31 to take on the Belmont Abbey Crusaders.  They will then travel to Emory, VA on April 7 to take on the Emory & Henry Wasps at 2pm.  The Warriors will return to Central, SC on April 11 to host the North Greenville Trailblazers.