LYNCHBURG, Va. — The High Point University women's lacrosse team vied with Liberty University in an offensive bout Wednesday night as the Flames edged the Panthers, 26-21.
Esprit Cha scored a career-high six goals, while
Reese Dowgiallo deposited a new career-high four goals on a perfect shooting percentage.
Allie Connally added four more goals while
Shannon Smith,
Bella Germani, and
Mandy Brockamp all netted two apiece. Cha also had two assists for a new career-high eight points, which pushes her over a career 100 points.
SITE: LU Lacrosse Field
SCORE: High Point 21, Liberty 26
RECORDS: High Point (1-2), Liberty (3-2)
Head Coach Lyndsey Boswell: "Credit to Liberty for giving us a fight for 60 minutes. I'm disappointed in this loss. We lacked discipline in the second quarter, and it showed up all over the scoreboard. When you win three out of four quarters, but give up 10 goals in the other one, it's going be an uphill battle. I love this team, and I believe they have what it takes to be great. We've learned so much already in three games, and I'm hopeful we can continue to build and grow and see it all come together."
After the first quarter, the Panthers held a one-goal lead which featured Brockamp's first goal of 2025, a Cha hat trick while Connally scored one and Germani netted her first of two with 41 seconds left in the period.
The Flames responded, bursting out on a 6-0 run to take a lead the Panthers would threaten but never surpass. HPU snapped the run with goals from Dowgiallo and Connally, but Liberty scored four more to end the half for a 15-8 advantage.
High Point made a change in the cage, subbing in
Joy Coffey as she relieved
Ava Welsh and played the entire second half. Liberty held a 5-3 advantage during the opening eight minutes, and then the Panthers ripped off four straight goals. The Flames responded with one more, but Smith matched it as she steam rolled for a goal with two seconds left in the third period to cut the deficit to five, 21-16.
Lily Trout scored the Panthers' first goal of the second half, which equated to her first collegiate goal and High Point's highest-scoring period with eight goals. Defensively,
Jaidyn Donley scooped two ground balls and had a mid-air caused turnover while Coffey had multiple saves and a caused turnover.
The team's exchanged goals one-for-one in the final period, scoring five each as High Point pressed to cut at the deficit. Cha, Dowgiallo and Connally all reached their career highs in the fourth period while Brockamp scored her first multi-score game this season.
Brockamp also had a season-high seven draw controls.
Julia Dustin had three caused turnovers and three ground balls.
Up Next: The Panthers travel to #22 Navy for a Sunday showdown in Annapolis, Maryland, at 12 p.m.
#GoHPU
