CLEVELAND, Ga.— Izzy Knight notched the 100^th goal of her collegiate career and also scored late against Truett McConnell to secure a 19-18 win over the Bears for the Montreat women's lacrosse team on the road Saturday afternoon. Thanks to Knight's feat and a plethora of points from Kate Gauntlett, the Cavaliers improved to 5-4 (1-2 AAC), picking up their first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) victory of the year. Montreat's fifth win of 2022 matches the most wins in a single season in program history.
 
Like she has all season long, Gauntlett got on the scoresheet early for the Cavaliers, recording a goal just 21 seconds into the first quarter. Though Truett McConnell answered with a trio of scores to lead 3-1, Montreat responded with four consecutive tallies to build a 5-3 advantage.
 
Gauntlett registered her second of the day to start the scoring spree before Mina Hicks leveled the matchup at three with a man-up goal moments later. Forty-one seconds after Hicks' tally, Knight connected to reach her milestone and give the Cavs the lead. The Duncan, S.C. native dodged left and shot low to beat the TMU goalie with 3:58 remaining in the opening frame. Aleea Bone then capped off the span of 2:45 with a goal to make it 5-3.
 
"We worked really hard and hustled today. We played as a team and played well under pressure situations," said Bone.
 
TMU (1-4, 1-2 AAC) used a pair of late goals to knot the game at five through 15 minutes, but Bone, Knight and Hicks each recorded their second goals of the matchup as Montreat sprinted ahead 8-5 midway through the second frame. In the game of runs, the Bears utilized three straight scores over the final 3:26 of the half, including two while a man down, to go into the break tied at eight.
 
Over the initial 30 minutes, the Cavaliers held slight advantages in most stat categories. The squads tied 20 to 20 on overall shot attempts, but the Cavs notched more shots on goal (14-11), draw controls (11-6) and ground balls (7-5) than the home team. Gauntlett and Dovie Yates both led Montreat with two assists, while four players all scored two goals.
 
The Cavaliers came out of the gates on fire in the third quarter. Montreat, who outshot the Bears 14-5 in the 15-minute period, used two goals each from Gauntlett, Yates and Hicks to fuel a 6-1 scoring run and go up 14-9 halfway into the third. Two more goals from Gauntlett and one from Hannah Jarboe aided the Cavs in maintaining a five-goal differential heading into the fourth (17-12) after outscoring TMU 9-4 in the frame.
 
In the fourth, it was Truett McConnell who stepped up defensively. The Bears scored the opening three goals of the final period, and went on a 5-1 stretch to begin the quarter, efficiently cutting the visitors' lead to a single goal (18-17) with 7:32 left in the game.
 
The next tally proved to be the most important, as Knight ended the Cavs' drought and potted a shot into the net with her team a player down and only 3:24 on the clock. Knight's hat-trick securing goal proved to also be the game-winner as, despite a late goal by the Bears, Carlie Henning stuffed three TMU free position attempts down the stretch to keep Montreat ahead 19-18. Henning ended the competition with five total stops in net.
 
"Truett McConnell has a lot of great players. We're happy to come out of here with a win and go into the break with momentum," mentioned head coach Tom Flynn.
 
The Cavs edged the Bears in most statistical categories, holding leads in shots (38-36), shots on goal (29-23), draw controls (25-14) and ground balls (21-15). Gauntlett, who leads the NAIA in both goals (50) and points (70), amassed seven goals and four helpers on the day. Hicks added four goals and two assists, while Yates also finished with six points (two goals, four assists). In addition to Knight's hat-trick, Bone scored twice and had an assist and Jarboe contributed with a goal and an assist to round out the scoring.
 
With the win, the Cavaliers snapped their three-game losing streak and defeated Truett McConnell for the first time in program history. The win also marks the third one-goal triumph for the Cavaliers this season.
 
On the one-goal victories Bone stated, "It's good that we can keep our composure, score under pressure and not let the score dictate how we play."
 
Women's lacrosse now takes on Brenau University in a conference matchup next Saturday. Game time in Gainesville, Ga. is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.