ROCK HILL, S.C.- The Presbyterian College women's lacrosse team was held to just one goal in the second half, as the Big South Conference Regular Season Champion Winthrop Eagles went on to earn the 21-5 win in the Big South Quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon at Eagle Field.
PC finishes the season with a 3-14 record overall, as Winthrop improves to 15-3 and advances to play the winner of No. 4 High Point vs. No. 5 Longwood on Friday at 4 p.m.
Freshman Ashley Wren (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) led the Blue Hose with two goals in the loss. Katy Richardson (Lake Worth, Fla.), Maggie Richardson (Maplewood, N.J.), and Jess Goergen (Fayetteville, Ga.) all scored individual goals for PC.
Big South Second Team Defensive player, Maura Talvacchia (Moorestown, N.J.), had five caused turnovers and five ground balls for the Blue Hose, while Amanda Lindsey (Peachtree City, Ga.) also collected five ground balls. Lee-Ann Salim (East Islip, N.Y.) got the start in goal for the Blue Hose. She made two saves in the opening half, while Sophia Cuzzupe (Newtown Square, Pa.) made two saves in goal in the second half.
Shannon Gallagher, an All-Conference First Team selection, scored a Big South Tournament record eight goals for the Eagles. Big South Attacking Player of the Year, Jenna Kasmarik, had four goals and also won eight draw controls. Allie Yeager had four goals, while Abigal Blevins had three strikes for the Eagles.
Gallagher had a team-high five caused turnovers and Katherine Judge collected eight ground balls. Big South Freshman of the Year, Alaina Girani, made four saves in goal during her 47 minutes of action. Jesse Filyaw-Hiu made two saves during the remainder of the contest for the hosts.
Solid defense by PC held off seven Winthrop shots in the opening ten minutes of the game. Yeager put the hosts on the board with 19:26 to play on a pass from Kristen Shriver and Blevins put the Eagles up 2-0 on an assist from Katie Clark. Kasmarik recorded her 68th goal of the game with 15:40 to play to give Winthrop a 3-0 lead.
Wren scored PC's first goal of the game on a crossing pass from Alexandra Cole (Duluth, Ga.) to cut it to 3-1 with 14:22 on the clock. Yeager tallied her second goal of the game on a free position shot to extend the host's lead back to three goals.
Big South Honorable Mention honoree, Katy Richardson, scored her 39th goal of the season for the Blue Hose with 11:59 to play to make the score 4-2, but Winthrop scored the next two goals within 50 second of each other to stretch the lead to four goals.
Cassie Watters (Chapel Hill, N.C.) found Maggie Richardson in front of the goal from an over-the-net pass to make the score 6-3 with 8:11 to play.
Gallagher continued her offensive attack with another goal before Wren scored again for the Blue Hose for PC's last score of the first half with 5:42 remaining. Winthrop closed out the final five minutes of the half with five straight goals, three of which by Gallagher, to take a 12-4 lead at halftime. Gallagher led the Eagles in the first half with five goals on six shots.
Winthrop went on a nine-goal run in the second half, sparked by Gallagher's score just 37 seconds into the half. Goergen broke PC's dry spell on a pass from Cole with 6:55 left on the clock, after 14-straight Winthrop goals.
PC will say goodbye to seniors Maggie Richardson and Miriam Collins.
