SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A trio of Valkyries posted two goals each, but it was not enough as the Converse lacrosse team was denied a Conference Carolinas win by Southern Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon. 

GAME INFORMATION

Score: Southern Wesleyan 16, Converse 9

Records: Southern Wesleyan (2-1, 2-1 CC) Converse (0-5, 0-4 CC)

Location: Hayden Abney Fulp Field, Spartanburg, S.C. 

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

• Kelsie Glass, Ciriaca Petitto, and Camryn Wales each scored a pair of goals on the afternoon.
• Petitto produced an all-around game with four groundballs and four caused turnovers.
• Kat Goldfuss joined Petitto with a team-high four groundballs.
• Madalynn Brunner played all 60 minutes in goal, tallying eight saves.
• Southern Wesleyan held a 28-22 advantage on shots, but Converse won the groundball battle, 16-15.
• Converse was able to score on 2-of-7 free shot opportunities while SWU cashed in on 3-of-6 freebies.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half

Southern Wesleyan took an early 2-0 lead with back-to-back scores just over five minutes into the contest. However, Petitto put the Valkyries on the board in the 19^th minute, picking up a man-down goal before Haleigh McSwain's one-timer found the back of the net less than a minute later, knotting the contest at 2-2 with 18:24 on the clock. 

Tabitha Beecher tallied the next two goals for SWU, extending the Warriors lead back to a two-goal advantage before Camryn Wales beat the shot clock with a wrap-around goal at the 16:15 mark, pulling the Vals to within 4-3. After a man-up goal by SWU put the visitors up 5-3, Glass ripped her first of the contest to bring the deficit back to just a single goal. 

However, the Warriors padded their lead with two straight, but Goldfuss tallied a free position goal with six ticks left on the clock, sending Converse into the locker room trailing 7-5. 

Second Half

A 3-0 scoring run by the Warriors coming out of the brief intermission ballooned the lead to 10-5 six minutes into the second half. Glass put a halt to the run with a goal at the 22:52 mark, but Southern Wesleyan blew the game open with four consecutive scores and six-of-seven over a span of 15 minutes, jumping out to its biggest lead of the game, 16-7. 

The Valkyries were able to score two straight goals just seconds apart, but it was not enough as SWU took home the 16-9 win. 

UP NEXT

The Valkyries will return to the field on Monday, March 9, hosting Lee University at 6 p.m. in non-conference action.