HIGH POINT, N.C. — High Point University women's lacrosse secured its first win of the season, defeating the Mountaineers of Mount St. Mary's, 10-8, Saturday afternoon. It was a back-and-forth match, with the Panthers ultimately coming out victorious behind a career-high, four-goal performance from
Emma Genovese.
Site: Vert Stadium
Score: High Point 10, Mount St. Mary's 8
Records: High Point (1-1), Mount St. Mary's (0-2)
Coach Lyndsey Boswell: "So happy to get this first win at home this weekend; I am super excited for the girls. Emma (Genovese) was so big for us offensively, and it is really exciting for her to hit her career high today. We took a really deep look at our defense this week compared to last week and played a completely different style coming into this game. I feel a lot of pride having our alumni here this weekend. We have players, who are on campus right now, that took us to the NCAA Tournament. I love seeing them and hearing them share their stories".
It was a story we have heard before, as graduate attack Mena Loescher opened up the contest with two back-to-back goals to put the Panthers up 2-0 early.
Just minutes later, Emma Genovese scored her first goal of the afternoon, off a beautiful assist from Grace Bruce.
Bruce then got on the board herself, scoring a free-position goal with seven minutes left in the first quarter. Taylor Suplee held it down on the other end, making three saves in the first 15 minutes. At the end of the first, the Panthers led 4-2.
There were almost four scoreless minutes by both squads to open the second quarter, until freshman attack Shannon Smith made her scoring debut as she netted her first career goal in the Purple and White. Smith made a hard cut through the middle, quick-sticking it into the back of the net, with the assist from Emma Nowakowski.
The Mountaineers responded quickly, cutting the lead down to one going into the halftime break. Some pick-and-roll action from Loescher and Genovese tallied Genovese's second goal of the game, putting HPU up 6-4 at the start of the third. Genovese then converted on a free-position shot to secure a hat-trick as the Panthers started to pull away.
Junior midfielder Kay Rosselli got in on the action, scoring consecutive goals to keep the edge over the Mountaineers, 9-5. Mt. St. Mary's put some pressure on late, netting a few in the back of the cage, but Suplee and the defense held their own.
With just over four minutes left, Genovese put the icing on the cake, scoring her career-high fourth goal and the Panther's 10th goal to defeat the Mountaineers, 10-8. Genovese stated after the win, "It felt really good to score that last goal, and I saw an opening on the net and just kind of went with it."
Genovese ended the afternoon as the scoring leader with four goals and five draw-controls. Loescher and Rosselli tallied two goals and an assist, while Bruce and Smith each scored a goal. Taylor Suplee recorded eight saves for the Panthers.
UP NEXT: The Panthers are home again next Saturday, February 25th, to take on James Madison University at 2 p.m.
#GoHPU
