BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— The Montreat women's lacrosse team burst out of the gates on Tuesday night against the Erskine College Flying Fleet, soaring to a 25-17 win in Black Mountain, N.C. The non-conference victory moved the Cavaliers to 4-1 on the year, adding to their best start in program history.
 
Montreat started on the front foot and never looked back. Aleea Bone opened the game with a free position goal after 2:04 of gameplay, the first of four Montreat goals scored by four different Cavaliers on four consecutive shots. Mina Hicks, Kate Gauntlett and Hannah Jarboe all helped the Cavs build a substantial lead early on.
 
Jarboe and Gauntlett, along with Dovie Yates, all added an additional tally moments later, pushing Montreat's lead to 7-0 after just 5:45. Jarboe whipped her third goal and Montreat's eighth into the net before the Flying Fleet got onto the score sheet.
 
Erskine (0-2) scored two goals within 31 seconds of each other, ending the shutout at 6:01 and doubling their goal total at 5:30. Despite the two Erskine scores, the Cavaliers weren't deterred. Montreat scored a women's program record 11 goals in the first quarter, leading 11-4 with three quarters to go.
 
"We always have the intention of getting out and scoring goals early, and I feel like our team chemistry helps with that," Hicks said. "We see each other really well on the field."
 
The goals kept coming for the Cavaliers in the second frame, as the team recorded five more tallies in a span of 4:34. Gauntlett added three during that stretch, while Jarboe scored twice and Bone once.
 
Down 16-5, Erskine started to settle in and keep up with Montreat's blazing pace. The Flying Fleet were responsible for five of the final seven goals in the half to bring their deficit to 18-10 at intermission.
 
Gauntlett registered six goals and two assists through 30 minutes, while Jarboe wasn't far behind with five scores and a pair of helpers. Hicks also recorded a hat trick in the first half.
 
Montreat held serve in the possession statistics, leading in draw controls (17-12), ground balls (9-7) and turnovers (7-6). All 21 of the Cavaliers' shots in the first half landed on frame.
 
Gauntlett's seventh goal of the night came 57 seconds into the third quarter, but the Flying Fleet were still in rhythm. Winning five of the first six draw controls, the visitors scored four straight goals to shave the Montreat lead down to five goals (19-14) just shy of the midway point of the frame.
 
The good news for the Cavaliers was that their offense continued to fire on all cylinders. Hicks, Yates and Bone answered the Erskine run, quickly pushing the advantage out to 22-14; however, like it did so often in the second and third quarters, Erskine made a late run and closed to gap to 22-16 entering the final frame.
 
As she did in the third quarter, Gauntlett provided the first goal of the fourth, scoring with 10:41 remaining in regulation to put the Cavs up seven (23-16). Yates expanded the Montreat edge to eight goals when she recorded the final goal of her hat trick less than three minutes later.
 
With regulation winding to a close, Hicks became the third Cavalier to score at least five goals in the game when she whipped a Gauntlett pass into the netting, putting the contest out of reach for good, 25-17. Montreat would ultimately see out the final 4:24 and win by the same score line.
 
"We have a solid offense, and there are going be nights when you just have to outscore the other team," said head coach Tom Flynn. "Faith Flanagan and Chandler Werner are two of the best players we've seen this year."
 
Five Cavaliers recorded at least a hat trick on Tuesday, with Gauntlett leading all scorers (8 goals, 3 assists). Hicks and Jarboe each tallied five goals, while Jarboe also added three helpers. Yates paced Montreat with four assists, and she and Bone each scored three times. Carlie Henning, who made five saves in the fourth quarter to close out the Flying Fleet, ended the night with 10 saves.
 
Erskine closed the gap on several team statistical categories, but Montreat really built an edge in free position shots, scoring on 4-5 tries compared to Erskine's 1-1. The Cavaliers also tallied five more total shots (39-34) and shots on frame (32-27).
 
"We've talked about the process of winning close games," Flynn added. "Now there's another process, which is if you get an early lead, you have to maintain momentum. We see teams throughout sports get ahead and then don't finish strong, so I'm really proud of our team."
 
The Montreat women's lacrosse team stays in Black Mountain, N.C. for another non-conference contest on Friday as the Cavaliers play host to the Alma College Scots. Action at Pulliam Stadium is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m.