HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University women's lacrosse team opened Big South Conference play Saturday as the conference's top two teams tussled with Mercer University edging the Panthers, 13-10.
SITE: Vert Stadium
SCORE: High Point 10, Mercer 13
RECORDS: High Point (4-5, 0-1), Mercer (5-5, 2-0)
Head Coach Lyndsey Boswell: "We didn't get the result we hoped for against a very good Mercer team, but we still have a way to go until we are playing our best lacrosse. We continue to have several contributors on both sides of the field. Jordi and Allie came up big for us at different points on the draw circle, and I'm really proud of the effort there. This is a special group; I'm so happy for every chance I get to coach them. We will learn from our mistakes and get back to work in preparation for Winthrop Wednesday."
The Panthers took the lead out of the gate as
Allie Connally,
Mandy Brockamp, and
Esprit Cha scored in that order for a quick 3-0 lead. Mercer responded with two goals with a
Shannon Smith goal sandwiched in-between.
The two teams went back-and-forth in the second quarter, exchanging leads while Mercer took the one-goal advantage into half. Brockamp netted her second multi-score game, while
Pia Cavallaro joined the scoring column before halftime to cut the deficit to one, 7-6.
Connally started the third quarter like she did the first, scoring to give the sophomore her third straight multi-score game and her fourth this season. The Bears scored the next two while Cha netted her 22nd to make it a one-goal game going into the final frame.
Mercer scored three straight goals in the fourth to create the biggest gap, a four-goal lead, in which the Panthers couldn't close after
Jordan Miles scored at the nine-minute mark. Cavallaro netted her second multi-goal game in the final minute, but it was too late to make a final push.
The draw controls were nearly even on each side as Connally and Miles had a career high with five and seven, respectively. Brockamp, Smith and
Kay Rosselli had assists, while Cha led the team in ground balls (four) and career-high caused turnovers (six).
Ava Welsh had eight saves and
Joy Coffey had four in the cage.
The Panthers had four players with two goals as Connally, Cavallaro, Cha and Brockcamp netted a pair each, while
Shannon Smith and
Jordan Miles had one apiece.
Up Next: HPU travels to Winthrop on Wednesday, April 3 for its next conference game at 3 p.m.
#GoHPU
