GREENVILLE, S.C. — The High Point University Panthers women's lacrosse team traveled back to South Carolina for the second time in seven days to take on the Furman University Paladins in a Saturday afternoon contest. Despite a second-half surge from the Paladins, HPU's strong first half powered the Panthers to the 17-12 win. It was the fourth straight victory for High Point.
Shannon Smith led the way for the Panthers, tying a season-high five goals with one coming just before the horn rang to end the first half to give HPU a 10-goal lead after 30 minutes. Tatum Goettelmann recorded a hat trick and dished out another three assists, while Lily Trout also recorded a hat trick and assisted on another goal.
SITE: Paladin Stadium
SCORE: High Point 17, Furman 12
RECORDS: High Point (5-8, 5-1), Furman (7-8, 3-3)
Head Coach Lyndsey Boswell: "Really excited to get this win on the road. Furman's a great team, and with it being their senior day, a little bit of extra energy coming from their sideline. I was really excited to see how our girls came out in that second quarter, gave us a bit of a cushion, and then Furman came out strong in the second half, and obviously, like we just had to match their intensity later in the game, and we held on, and a good conference win. I'm proud of the girls. Tatum [Goettelmann] is doing such a great job in the absence of Reese [Dowgiallo], and I can't say that enough. She has stepped into big shoes and filled them greatly in the last couple of games. Her focus and execution were top-notch today. Shannon has worked really hard to find her groove again, and she executed on her shooting and just stayed composed through all of the extra pressure she was getting, and I'm really proud of both of them. Lily [Trout] stepped up, and she was 3-for-4. She's been huge. She's kind of behind the scenes, just doing a lot of extra things right now. I'm just really proud of the whole attacking unit."
The Panthers opened up the game fast as Smith scored her first goal of the game 43 seconds in off a pass from Goettelmann. Furman responded, but the Panthers responded, going on a four-goal run as freshman Anna Mullikin scored and Smith followed her up with her second goal of the game. HPU went into the second quarter leading 3-1.
The run continued as Smith secured the hat trick, receiving a pass from Bella Germani. Goettelmann found Trout for her first goal of the game to make the score 5-1. The Paladins scored, but the Panthers bounced back with two more goals, one from Trout, assisted by Mullikin, and Smith once again. Trout found Smith for the goal to make it 7-2. The Arnold, Md., native then scored her own goal once again.
Goettelmann found Ava Grandi as the freshman found the back of the net with just over two minutes to play in the first half. Goettlemann then scored back-to-back-to-back goals in less than 80 seconds to make the contest 12-3. Smith scored her fifth goal of the first half on a bounce shot buzzer beater as the Panthers went into halftime up by double-digits, 13-3.
Both teams went back and forth to begin the second half as Germani scored two consecutive Panthers goals, with the first being assisted by Jaidyn Donley. Furman then went on a six-goal run into the fourth quarter to make the score 15-11. Mullikin ended the Furman run with her second goal of the contest. Furman responded, but Ella McKay scored the game-sealing goal as the Panthers held on to win 17-12.
Defender Julia Dustin caused four turnovers, while Donley caused two. Caitlyn Baehr led the team in ground balls recovered with three. Mullikin and Gracie Vickery combined for 11 draw controls. Goalie Ava Welsh finished with 10 saves.
Up Next: The Panthers head back to Vert Stadium for a Wednesday evening out-of-conference contest against the East Carolina University Pirates. The matchup will take place on April 15, at 6:00 p.m
#GoHPU
