Box Score BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— The Montreat women's lacrosse team continued rolling as the Cavaliers faced off with the Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs at Pulliam Stadium Tuesday evening. Montreat, who defeated their Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) foe 21-8 on the night, earned its third consecutive triumph and its third AAC victory of the year, a program best. With the win, the Cavaliers improved to 7-4 (3-2 AAC) for the 2022 campaign, furthering their already program-record win total to seven.
 
The Cavs' offense began the night with a plethora of chances as the team peppered their opponents' net with shot attempts. Montreat registered 19 shot attempts to TWU's mere five in the opening 15 minutes, outscoring the Bulldogs 9-2 in the process.
 
Aleea Bone started the scoring just 45 seconds into the contest, finishing off a feed from Hannah Jarboe to get the home team on the board first. Kate Gauntlett, the squad's leading scorer, then tallied a pair of quick goals to grow the lead to three. After Tennessee Wesleyan got a goal back, Gauntlett completed a hat trick midway through the initial frame before Bone scored four straight in just 4:21 of gameplay to put Montreat up 8-1 with 21 seconds left in the first quarter.
 
Bone, who had a career-best game offensively, noted, "I felt that catching and hesitating a second before shooting worked really well, and Izzy [Knight] and Kate [Gauntlett] really set me up well."
 
The final 21 seconds proved to result in two goals, one for the Bulldogs and Gauntlett's fourth of the matchup with only four ticks on the clock as the Cavaliers led 9-2 after one.
 
The Cavs kept their foot on the gas offensively through the second quarter. Though TWU notched two goals, Montreat used a scoring spree from Izzy Knight to pad its advantage. Knight, who recorded four goals in a span of 9:47 in the second, captained the second-quarter push as Bone contributed two more goals and Gauntlett added another to give the Cavaliers a 16-4 edge at the intermission.
 
Through one half of play, the Cavs dominated shot attempts (30-10), shots on target (23-7) and ground balls (16-8). Although the visitors controlled a majority of the draws in the first half (16-5), Montreat utilized defensive pressure to turn the Bulldogs over and sprint ahead offensively. The Cavaliers forced 18 TWU turnovers while giving up possession only five times themselves over the first two quarters.
 
In the second half, the Cavs slowed their attack as the clock ran due to the scoring margin between the two teams.
 
Although the squad did not keep their pressure at the same intensity, Mina Hicks and Bone each scored for the Cavaliers in the third quarter. Hicks then added two consecutive goals in the fourth to complete her hat trick, while Knight scored her fifth and final tally with 8:08 remaining in the game to grow Montreat's advantage to its largest of the contest at 15 (21-6). During the scoring stretch, Gauntlett set up three of the four goals.
 
The Bulldogs registered a pair of late scores to pull within 13; however, Montreat saw out its 21-8 triumph with help from Carlie Henning, who saved four shots in net for the Cavaliers.
 
The combination of Bone, Gauntlett, Knight and Hicks tallied all 21 of the Cavs goals, while the four notched seven of the team's 10 assists. Bone collected a career-high eight goals and 10 points, Gauntlett contributed five goals and three helpers, Knight scored her five goals and Hicks grabbed two assists to go with her hat trick. Sydney Chivers also assisted on two goals and Jarboe recorded her aforementioned assist.
 
"We know that Tennessee Wesleyan is a well-coached team, and the program has a strong history. We're just working on being able to compete well against those teams and we did that tonight," mentioned head coach Tom Flynn.
 
Overall, the Cavs controlled every aspect of the competition outside of draw controls, a category the shorthanded team conceded 24-8. Montreat outshot Tennessee Wesleyan 43-18, 32-12 on goal, and doubled up the Bulldogs in ground balls by winning 26 of the 39. The Cavaliers forced 38 turnovers while surrendering just nine possessions on the night. Clearing the ball effectively, the home team converted 14 of its 17 clear attempts compared to TWU's mere 7-for-17. The Cavs also made three of five free position shots.
 
On the team's impressive defensive effort and success in the matchup, Jailyn Munoz stated, "We really worked on our adjacent slides and communicating cuts, which made a difference tonight."
 
Women's lacrosse is back on the field for a matchup against No. 1 Keiser on Thursday. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Pulliam Stadium in Black Mountain, N.C.