GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum University scored the first 11 goals of the match and went on to a 19-4 victory over Shorter University in non-conference women's lacrosse Monday evening at Pioneer Field.
The Pioneers (5-5) outshot the Hawks (1-8) by a 38-12 margin, and were led on offense by Elisha Stack who had four goals and seven assists for 11 points, one off her career high. Carmella Nilsson had five goals and an assist and Jessie Carolin-Vandenberg finished with four goals for the Pioneers, with two goals apiece for Mya Halladay and Sophia Didzbalis. Laura Nance Pickens and Liberty Jones also scored for Tusculum, with four assists from Kayla Nuccio.
Cassidy Jones led Shorter with three goals, with a goal and an assist from Shyla Araujo. The Hawks turned the ball over 26 times and went just 5-for-14 on clears, with the Pioneers having a 25-9 edge in ground balls.
Didzbalis scored twice in the first quarter to help Tusculum to a 4-0 lead after nine minutes, then Stack scored three straight goals to stretch the Pioneer advantage to 7-0 with 13:31 left in the first half. Two goals in 54 seconds from Nilsson and one from Jones helped Tusculum to a 10-0 lead with 8:09 remaining in the second quarter, a lead that the Pioneers would take to halftime.
Nilsson scored early in the third quarter before the Hawks broke through on a goal by Jones with 12:18 left in the period. Carolin-Vandenberg scored all four of her goals and Nuccio had all four of her assists in the second half for the Pioneers, with Nilsson adding three goals in the second half.
Caroline Rauhuff had three ground balls and two caused turnovers for the Pioneers, with three ground balls and three draw controls for Pickens. Kaitlyn Dwyer-Peppers finished with eight draw controls for the Hawks, with three ground balls for Jones.
Tusculum used three goalkeepers in the match, with starter Emily White making three saves in a scoreless first half. Emery Dove had one save in the third quarter, and Brianna Warren played the fourth quarter for the Pioneers. For Shorter, Alley Jones went all 60 minutes and finished with 11 saves.
The Pioneers will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, March 28 when Coker visits for a 3 p.m. South Atlantic Conference match. The Cobras will bring a 3-5 overall record and a 1-3 mark in SAC play, coming off an 11-4 loss to UVA Wise on Thursday.
