GREENVILLE, TENN. – The Converse University women's lacrosse team fell 23-5 to Tusculum University on Wednesday night at Pioneer Field.

For the second time in three seasons the Valkyries have opened up the season on a six-game losing streak. Meanwhile, Tusculum improves to 3-5 overall on the season and 4-0 all-time against the Valkyries dating back to the 2015 season.

The Pioneers struck first in the opening 18 seconds of the first quarter, when Tia Tuininga found Jessica Speigel. The Valkyries appeared to be unfazed as Brenna Everette scored the equalizer at the 13:49 mark of the period. Tusculum struck back with a pair of goals in a span of 30-seconds to take a 3-1 advantage over the Valkyries.

Converse kept the Pioneers within striking distance the remainder of the quarter as Everette scored with 7:12 remaining on the clock. A few minutes later Cassidy O'Neill scored her first goal of the game off an assist by Haleigh McSwain.

Heading into the second quarter the Valkyries trailed 9-3 to the Pioneers. With 10:09 to play in the second stanza, Everette found O'Neill for the Valkyries fourth goal of the night. A five-goal outburst by the Pioneers gave Tusculum a 14-4 lead at the halftime break. In the second half, Everette scored the Valkyries lone goal in the third period of action.   

Scoring Breakdown
1^st Quarter:

• 14:42, Jessica Spiegel, assisted by Tia Tuininga, 1-0 Tusculum
• 13:49, Brenna Everette, unassisted, 1-1
• 13:33, Kylie Marek, unassisted, 2-1 Tusculum
• 13:15, Emily Youngblood, unassisted, 3-1 Tusculum
• 10:16, Tia Tuininga, unassisted, 4-1 Tusculum
• 7:12, Brenna Everette, unassisted, 4-2 Tusculum
• 6:57, Lucy Brewer, unassisted, 5-2 Tusculum
• 5:36, Emily Youngblood, unassisted, 6-2 Tusculum
• 4:37, Natalie Dagley, assisted by Tia Tuininga, 7-2 Tusculum
• 4:07, Cassidy O'Neill, assisted by Haleigh McSwain, 7-3 Tusculum
• 1:04, Kylie Marek, unassisted, 8-3 Tusculum
• 00:01, Tia Tuininga, unassisted, 9-3 Tusculum

2^nd Quarter:

• 14:02, Tia Tuininga, unassisted, 10-3 Tusculum
• 10:55, Tia Tuininga, assisted by Jessica Spiegel, 11-3 Tusculum
• 10:09, Cassidy O'Neill, assisted by Brenna Everette, 11-4 Tusculum
• 4:32, Lucy Brewer, assisted by Tia Tuininga, 12-4 Tusculum
• 1:11, Lucy Brewer, unassisted, 13-4 Tusculum
• 00:26, Tia Tuininga, unassisted, 14-4 Tusculum

3^rd Quarter:

• 14:31, Natalie Dagley, unassisted, 15-4 Tusculum
• 12:42, Brenna Everette, unassisted, 15-5 Tusculum
• 6:02, Emily Youngblood, unassisted, 16-5 Tusculum
• 4:02, Tia Tuininga, unassisted, 17-5 Tusculum
• 2:29, Jadyn Gleason, unassisted, 18-5 Tusculum
• 1:09, Kira Spaulding, unassisted, 19-5 Tusculum

4^th Quarter:

• 14:25, Tia Tuininga, assisted by Jessica Spiegel, 20-5 Tusculum
• 12:15, Jadyn Gleason, unassisted, 21-5 Tusculum
• 7:08, Kylie Marek, unassisted, 22-5 Tusculum
• 00:25, Kamryn McNeil, unassisted, 23-5 Tusculum

Notables:

• Everette led the team with a trio of goals and an assist on the night. O'Neill finished second on the team with a pair of goals on four shots. A quartet of players tied for the team lead with two ground balls each.

Next Up:

• The Valkyries will have almost a week off before playing Belmont Abbey next Wednesday night at Weisiger Stadium. The game is set for a 7:00 p.m. start time.

 
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