CLINTON, S.C. – Reaching a tied score on three separate occasions in the first half and seeming as if a lead through two frames was well on its way, the Presbyterian College lacrosse team witnessed a late 2
nd-period momentum shift that stretched to an extended length post-intermission, falling to High Point on Saturday afternoon by a 16-12 margin.
After seizing an 8-6 advantage with just under two minutes to go in half #1, the Blue Hose were dealt a 10-2 Panthers run that lasted until the conference contest's final moments (including a 4-1 discrepancy in the 3
rd chapter), sending PC's overall record to 6-7 beside a 3-2 mark in league affairs.
Playing some of their most well-rounded offense with only a few breaths left until the game's halfway point, the home side saw their pace quicken drastically as HPU sprinted into a more aggressive mindset, allowing them to rapidly turn a two-score deficit into a two-goal advantage in just 84 seconds.
NOTABLES
- Presbyterian's gleaming offensive tandem of
Abby Edmisten and
Willow Hammond synced up for 13 combined points in the hard-fought divisional setback (five goals, two assists for the former, two strikes and a career-best four helpers for the latter), imprinting their presence on all but one of PC's connections.
- The five-time scoring presentation by Edmisten officially gives the senior a collegiate point total of 150, firmly in second place among all players to don the blue and white over the school's 15-year growth of the sport. Now ten away from becoming the new program leader in that department (120 goals, 30 assists), the four-year midfielder completed her eighth outing with at least five scores while setting a new season-best in the process.
- Three days after establishing a personal-high on a six-goal effort to help her squad get the better of Winthrop in Rock Hill, Hammond's ensemble of assists registered as the most ever assembled by an underclassman in Presbyterian history. The Georgia native accounted for either the swing or the pass on PC's last three goals in the 2
nd frame, finishing off a six-score period for the club (their highest in a sole stanza this season).
-
Madison Foti,
Kylie Sullivan,
NaQuia Hall,
Avery West, and
Sophie Sullinger all contributed to the Blue Hose scoring tally, part of a crew that put forth 18 on-target attempts out of 21 looks at the net collectively.
- Starting keeper
Lilly Phillips and the back line ahead of her forced the Panthers into 22 turnovers despite the result not swaying to their liking, with four disruptions by seniors
Kendall Goldfarb and
Juliana San Lucas. Both sides recorded 15 ground ball pickups in the April heat, as Phillips stopped eight HPU shots from finding their destination.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- High Point's unexpected bombardment as the opening half veered towards the finish line was enough to suddenly turn the tide in their favor, landing seven consecutive strikes that weren't interrupted until the deficit had risen to its largest point of 13-8.
- Seven Panther points were accumulated within a quarter's final three minutes on Wednesday, providing the avenue for the visitors to stay perfect in the all-time series through 14 meetings. A bit of a silver lining amidst the loss, Presbyterian reached its closest margin all-time versus HPU, a regular powerhouse in the Big South and last year's co-regular season champion plus league tournament runner-up.
- One of the most high-voltage 15-minute windows in any of PC's 13 encounters, a modest 3-2 reading after one period turned into a 10-8 blitz by the time both sides cooled off for the break, a difference that was accomplished thanks to the aforementioned revival in HPU's attack.
- Head coach
Eric Clakeley's roster saw four different goal-scorers over the last two frames (Foti, Sullivan, Sullinger, and Edmisten's fifth), although were unable to shorten the distance from the Panthers' earlier torrent. In what turned into the highest-scoring bout of the campaign to feature the Blue Hose, High Point earned 22 draw control victories that often kept PC on the defensive.
UP NEXT
- The no. four seed in the league standings entering the day, coach Clakeley and co. will aim to stay in the hunt for the postseason race with four matchups left on the docket, returning to Bailey Memorial Stadium in another midweek tilt against Gardner-Webb.
- A postponed encounter that was originally scheduled for April 8 until mother nature intervened, the Blue Hose will go head-to-head with a Runnin' Bulldog squad that dropped to 1-4 in Big South dates after an 18-12 defeat at the hands of Wofford over the weekend.
- First draw in Clinton on the 19
th is slated for 5:00 p.m.