MACON, Ga. — For the eighth time in nine seasons, the second-seeded High Point University women's lacrosse team advanced to the Big South Conference championship game after defeating third-seeded Furman University Friday night, 18-14, in the semifinal matchup. The Panthers will face Mercer for the title Sunday at noon.
The victory was HPU Head Coach
Lyndsey Boswell's 200th career win as
Allie Connally became the new single-game draw controls leader, surpassing Abby Hormes who has held the record since 2022, with 16 draw controls.
Shannon Smith and
Mandy Brockamp led the Panthers in scoring with four goals each, while
Bella Germani and
Esprit Cha added three each.
Sydney Martin (three ground balls, two caused turnovers) and
Julia Dustin (three caused turnovers) paced the defense as
Ava Welsh had eight saves in the cage.
SITE: Five Star Stadium
SCORE: High Point 18, Furman 14
RECORDS: High Point (12-5), Furman (14-4)
Head Coach Lyndsey Boswell: "I've been so grateful to be the leader at High Point University for all these years and the number of amazing coaches that I've been able to learn from and coach alongside as well as the amazing players I've been able to coach. This doesn't get done alone, so I'm just really grateful for all the amazing people that I've been able to surround myself. It feels good [ to get win No. 200] on championship weekend and we were more than prepared for the game tonight. I liked the way we were able to bounce back after two quick scores from Furman. We got our feet underneath us pretty quickly, and then took control. I'm really proud of Allie on the draw circle and really the whole unit that make it possible for her to win those draws, but specifically just the way she's showing up right now. She's such a fighter, so gritty and I'm really excited for her. I thought Ava did a great job in the cage; she's the anchor of our defense. I love the way our defense showed fight, eliminating second and third opportunities through the whole game."
After a close first quarter, the Panthers heated up and trekked on a 11-0 run, scoring nine of the goals in the second quarter. The spark came from two woman-down goals late in the first quarter. The first at the 6:31 mark from
Shannon Smith and the second from
Reese Dowgiallo at the 2:33 mark.
Smith's second goal — with one minute left in the first quarter — gave High Point the 5-4 lead. The Panthers never trailed after the first quarter.
The second quarter was all High Point as the Panthers scored nine goals while holding the Paladins to zero. The offense was diverse as it saw goals scored by five different players, with three Panthers reaching hat trick status including Brockamp, Smith and Cha. Brockamp had her first, first-half hat trick of the season.
With two minutes remaining in the first half, Cha scored back-to-back goals, knocking in a deep lefty buzzer beater shot to lead 14-4, granting HPU the 10-point lead for a running clock at the start of the second half.
Opening the second half, Furman scored two goals in the first three minutes of action to stop the running clock and make it 14-6. Brockamp answered 20 seconds later as Dowgiallo found her diving straight to the goal for a dump off and quick snap in the back of the net.
The Paladins kept battling and scored another goal in less than a minute of Brockamps. High Point remained efficient on the offense and took advantage of the free positions.
Kate Prentice joined the party in the third quarter scoring her first goal of the game off a free position shot, helping the Panthers go 7-for-7.
HPU continued to work the clock and moved the ball on offense to create quality possessions. Smith tagged her fourth goal with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter to give High Point its second 10-goal lead of the game, 17-7, entering the final 15 minutes of the semis.
Through three quarters, Brockamp and Smith had combined for eight goals off nine shots and as a team, the Panthers had outshot the Paladins 28-17 with 24 of the shots being on goal for 17 points.
In the fourth quarter, the Paladins were not backing down and strung together six goals to close the game to 18-12.
Allie Connally won a crucial moment for the Panthers with her 15th draw control of the night with 5:43 left to go in the game, helping stop the Paladins run. Connally added her single-game best 16th with under a minute remaining.
HPU worked the clock some and took an open shot with 4:23 left in the game but a save from Furman gave the Paladins a chance to score. Going down field, Furman managed to get off a shot opportunity but with Welsh between the pipes, she protected the net and put a stop to Furman's momentum.
High Point remained discipline and took care of the ball with clock management. Furman snuck in two goals before the end of the game but with time ticking off the clock, the Panthers held off the Paladins and secured the 18-14 victory for a return to the Big South Championship game.
"Furman's a good team, so you saw them come back and fight a little bit in that third quarter," Boswell said. "I thought we did a good job holding onto it and responded really well. We converted a lot of turnovers on our defensive end into goals and pushed the pace. I think we are fast and can run with anybody, so you are able to see us really separate and use our speed to our advantage. I'm really excited to be here with this team throughout the weekend. We hope to make the season last as long as possible. They love each other, and we are just really grateful to be playing on Sunday."
#GoHPU
