SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Freshman midfielder Haleigh McSwain posted a career-high four goals, but it was not enough as the Converse College lacrosse team dropped a narrow 11-9 score to visiting Chowan University on Saturday afternoon.   

GAME INFORMATION

Score: Chowan 11, Converse 9

Records: Chowan (1-3, 1-1 CC) Converse (0-4, 0-3 CC)

Location: Vikings Field, Spartanburg, S.C. 

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• Libby Stevens was the only other person to score more than one goal, tallying two on the day.
• A trio of Valkyries posted one goal each.
• Converse held a 21-18 advantage on groundballs, but Chowan recorded 26 shots to the Valkyries 19.
• Madalynn Brunner held strong in goal, collecting six saves to go along with a team-high seven groundballs.
• Ciriaca Petitto collected four groundballs in the defeat, while forcing two turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half

The initial portion of the first half was a defensive battle, as the two teams could not establish any offensive momentum. Chowan's Leia Cabradillia got the scoring started with a goal at the 23:25 mark, but Cassidy O'Neill was able to knot the contest at 1-1 after taking an assist from McSwain in the 12^th minute of action. 

Chowan broke the tie just over a minute later, but McSwain posted her first score with 11:21 remaining in the opening period. However, the Hawks were able to tack on two unanswered goals over the half's final 8:33, taking a 4-2 lead into the intermission. 

Second Half

Libby Stevens brought the Vals to within one after scoring the second half's first goal, but Chowan extended its lead to 6-3 following back-to-back goals in a three-minute span. McSwain was at it again, cutting into the Hawks lead, but Misten White allowed CU to take a three-goal advantage with an unassisted score at the 22:18 mark. 

Back-to-back goals by Kat Goldfuss and Kelsie Glass allowed Converse to pull within 7-6 with 17:44 left in regulation. However, Chowan bounced back with two straight scores of its own to keep the pressure on the Valkyries. From that, point the scoring was evenly distributed as each team posted two goals each over 11-plus minutes of game action. Stevens blasted a score past the Hawks keeper with 1:19 on the clock, but that was the last score for either team, allowing Chowan to pick up the conference win. 

UP NEXT

Converse will return to the field on Saturday, February 29, traveling to Central, S.C. to take on Southern Wesleyan at noon.