MARS HILL, N.C.— The Montreat women's lacrosse team went on the road to start its 3-match road trip Wednesday night as the Cavaliers faced off against the Mars Hill University Lions. Though the Cavs led early, the Lions ultimately took the matchup by a score of 18-11 as Montreat dropped to 0-4 on the season.
Mars Hill (2-4) broke the ice, but
Kate Gauntlett led a charge as the Cavaliers responded to the first strike. Over a span of 3:55, Gauntlett tallied four goals, including two assisted by
Madison Terrell, to push the visitors' lead to 4-1 midway into the initial period. Though MHU netted four of the next five goals,
Adara Vouriotis ensured a 5-5 contest through one frame thanks to her first career tally.
In the second quarter, the scoring slowed as the teams combined for six fewer goals than in the previous 15 minutes. After the Lions went up 6-5, Gauntlett answered to knot the competition at 6-6 with 7:52 left until halftime. From there, the home side added a pair of goals to enter the intermission up 8-6.
Following two quarters of play, the Lions attempted more shots, 15-9, and more shots on goal, 13-9, than the Cavs. Mars Hill led in draw controls, 10-6, and ground balls, 16-11, while both squads caused three turnovers.
Ruthann Stout made five first-half saves in net for the Cavaliers.
MHU extended its edge to four (10-6) at the beginning of the third frame; however,
Hannah Jarboe and Terrell pulled the visitors back within one due to three goals in just 2:04. Jarboe struck first before Terrell made it 10-8, and Jarboe collected another to bring Montreat within a single goal. The final of the three was a man-up tally with 7:05 left in the period that was assisted by Gauntlett, which gave the Dawsonville, Ga. native 100 assists in her 2-plus seasons as a Cav.
Stout stuffed the Lions for the remainder of the frame, stopping a pair of shots on target to keep it 10-9, but the home side also notched a trio of saves to prevent the Cavaliers from tying the matchup through three quarters.
Mars Hill then utilized its most prominent offensive 15 minutes of the game to seal its victory. The Lions, who netted eight goals in the final quarter, poured in four during a 2-minute long stretch to go up 14-9 with 9:52 remaining. Although Terrell recorded her second goal and Jarboe completed her hat trick, MHU registered four additional goals to end the scoring in the 18-11 contest.
Overall, the home side held advantages in shots (32-24), shots on target (30-19), ground balls (29-23) and draw controls (23-19). The Cavaliers committed less turnovers (19-17), and both sides directly caused six turnovers. Individually, Stout finished with 12 saves and a team-best six ground balls. Gauntlett amassed seven points (5G, 2A) to go with her game-high eight draw controls, while Terrell (2G, 2A) and Jarboe (3G) also recorded multiple points.
Women's lacrosse plays another non-conference competition on Saturday as the Cavaliers travel to Pfeiffer University. Opening draw control in Misenheimer, N.C. is slated for 7 p.m.
