SPARTANBURG, S.C. – In a game that featured 40 total goals, nine lead changes and eight ties, the Converse University women's lacrosse team came up short in a 21-19 loss to Southern Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon at Hayden Abney Fulp Field inside Weisiger Stadium.

For the first time in two seasons the Valkyries will begin Conference Carolinas action with a blemish on their conference record. Cassidy O'Neill (Red Deer, Canada) finished with a career high nine goals on Saturday afternoon. O'Neill's scoring outburst is tied for the second most in school history and the most since Sharlize Burgos scored 11 against Montreat two years ago.

This is the third time this season the Valkyries have scored first in a game. O'Neill scored her first two goals of the game at the 11:26 and the 9:45 mark of the opening quarter. Libby Stevens (Spartanburg, S.C.) and Rhianna Warner (Duncan, S.C.) both earned assists on the two goals. Southern Wesleyan then rattled off three consecutive goals between the 9:13 mark and the 4:35 mark of the first quarter. With 3:20 remaining in the period Stevens scored on a pass from Kailee Reel (Damascus, Md.) to tie the game at three.

The Valkyries and the Warriors ended the opening quarter knotted at four. O'Neill for the second consecutive quarter scored the opening goal of the period. The goal by O'Neill gave the Valkyries the slight advantage before the Warriors tied the game once again. Throughout the remainder of the quarter the two teams went goal-for-goal with one another. With 1:14 remaining in the first half Jairy Sandoval scored to give the Warriors a 10-9 advantage. With just seconds remaining in the period, Kelsey Hawkins scored an unassisted goal to give Southern Wesleyan a two-goal lead going into the halftime break.

The Warriors opened the second half by scoring the first two goals of the third quarter. Warner ended the Valkyries scoring drought with a goal at the 11:20 mark of the period. Following a three-goal outburst by Southern Wesleyan the Valkyries called a timeout to regroup down 16-10. The timeout worked as Cassidy O'Neill and Taylor Goldfuss (Simpsonville, S.C.) scored back-to-back goals to keep Converse within reach.

Converse stayed within striking distance the remainder of the quarter but trailed 17-13 heading into the final 15 minutes of action. With just 9:15 remaining in the game Brenna Everette (Mechanicsville, Va.) scored her first goal of the game and pulled the Valkyries within a trio of goals from Southern Wesleyan at 20-17. A few moments later, Haleigh McSwain (Spartanburg, S.C.) scored her third goal of the game and the Valkyries were back within two goals of the Warriors. A ninth goal by O'Neill with 3:35 to play in the game ended the scoring for both sides. The Valkyries fought to the very end but time ran out before they could complete their comeback.
Scoring Breakdown
1^st Quarter:

• 11:26, Cassidy O'Neill, assisted by Libby Stevens, 1-0 Converse
• 9:45, Cassidy O'Neill, assisted by Rhianna Warner, 2-0 Converse
• 9:13, Jesse Soles, assisted by Jairy Sandoval, 2-1 Converse
• 8:51, Tabitha Beecher, unassisted, 2-2
• 4:35, Tabitha Beecher, unassisted, 3-2 SWU
• 3:20, Libby Stevens, assisted by Kailee Reel, 3-3
• 1:53, Tabitha Beecher, unassisted, 4-3 SWU
• 00:53, Libby Stevens, unassisted, 4-4

2^nd Quarter:

• 14:14, Cassidy O'Neill, unassisted, 5-4 Converse
• 13:44, Tabitha Beecher, unassisted, 5-5
• 13:10, Tabitha Beecher, unassisted, 6-5 SWU
• 11:43, Cassidy O'Neill, unassisted, 6-6
• 9:11, Cassidy O'Neill, assisted by Haleigh McSwain, 7-6 Converse
• 7:41, Haylee Cureton, unassisted, 7-7
• 6:14, Kelsey Hawkins, unassisted, 8-7 SWU
• 3:47, Haleigh McSwain, unassisted, 8-8
• 3:22, Cassidy O'Neill, unassisted, 9-8 Converse
• 2:07, Jesse Soles, assisted by Kelsey Hawkins, 9-9
• 1:14, Jairy Sandoval, assisted by Madison Brugger, 10-9 SWU
• 00:06, Kelsey Hawkins, unassisted, 11-9 SWU

3^rd Quarter:

• 12:09, Tabitha Beecher, unassisted, 12-9 SWU
• 11:58, Kelsey Hawkins, unassisted, 13-9 SWU
• 11:20, Rhianna Warner, unassisted, 13-10 SWU
• 10:14, Tabitha Beecher, assisted by Kelsey Hawkins, 14-10 SWU
• 9:46, Jesse Soles, unassisted, 15-10 SWU
• 9:19, Jocelyn Cosgrove, unassisted, 16-10 SWU
• 9:03, Cassidy O'Neill, assisted by Libby Stevens, 16-11 SWU
• 7:41, Taylor Goldfuss, assisted by Libby Stevens, 16-12 SWU
• 7:26, Tabitha Beecher, assisted by Kelsey Hawkins, 17-12 SWU
• 4:08, Rhianna Warner, unassisted, 17-13 SWU

4^th Quarter:

• 14:41, Yael Echeverria, assisted by Jairy Sandoval, 18-13 SWU
• 13:43, Libby Stevens, unassisted, 18-14 SWU
• 13:15, Kelsey Hawkins, assisted by Jocelyn Cosgrove, 19-14 SWU
• 11:55, Cassidy O'Neill (Woman UP), assisted by Libby Stevens, 19-15 SWU
• 10:53, Haleigh McSwain, unassisted, 19-16 SWU
• 10:01, Kelsey Hawkins, unassisted, 20-16 SWU
• 9:15, Brenna Everette, unassisted, 20-17 SWU
• 6:30, Haleigh McSwain, unassisted, 20-18 SWU
• 6:14, Tabitha Beecher, unassisted, 21-18 SWU
• 3:35, Cassidy O'Neill (Woman UP), unassisted, 21-19 SWU

Notables:

• O'Neill led the team in goals scored (9), points (9), total shots (10) and shots on goal (9). Stevens and McSwain both added a hat-trick, while Stevens led the team with 4 assists on the afternoon. Ciriaca Petitto led the team with 5 ground balls and Madalynn Brunner recorded 10 saves in the loss.
• Southern Wesleyan was carded a total of eight times (2 green cards, 6 yellow cards), while Converse was given just one yellow card in the match.

Next Up:

• The Valkyries will hit the road this week for a midweek matchup against the Tusculum Pioneers. The game is set for a 7:00 p.m. start time in Greenville, Tenn.

 
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