SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Converse Lacrosse team nearly pulled off an incredible fourth quarter comeback on Friday night at Weisiger Stadium, but ultimately fell 16-15 to Montevallo.
 
With the loss Converse drops to 0-1 on the season, the Valkyries have not won a season opener since the 2020 opener against Erskine. Meanwhile, Montevallo starts the season out 1-0 for the first time since 2023.
 
Montevallo started the contest out with three straight goals at the 12:46, 11:00, and 9:51 marks of the first quarter. Becky Reinhard got the Valkyries on the board first with her first goal of the season at the 8:34 juncture of the first stanza. Montevallo then scored four straight goals to build a 7-1 advantage against the Valkyries.
 
Hailey Obenchain ended the run with her first unassisted goal of the season to give the Valkyries their goal of the match. Reinhard and Izzy Eby both scored prior to end of the quarter as the Valkyries faced a 9-4 deficit heading into the second period of action.
 
The quarter break proved to be pivotal for the Valkyries offense as both Corynn Psychoghios and Gencie Coan scored their first goals of the season to make it a 9-6 match. Converse was then held scoreless the rest of the period, as Montevallo scored a trio of goals to go into the halftime break up 12-6.
 
Coming out of the halftime break, Montevallo scored two quick goals to extend their lead over Converse. Karter Lauer scored her first goal of the season at the 9:43 mark of the third quarter to end a 5-0 Montevallo run. Reinhard scored the last two goals of the third quarter for Converse, as the Valkyries went into the fourth quarter down 16-9.
 
In the fourth quarter the Valkyries offense came roaring back to life as Obenchain and Coan scored a trio of goals in the first four minutes of the period. Reinhard added a fourth with 7:25 to play in the match. With 3:20 to play in the game Reinhard picked up a loose ground ball off a missed shot from Obenchain and then found Obenchain for the put back shot against Montevallo. The goal trimmed the Falcons lead just two goals.
 
With 1:55 to play in the contest, Kaitlyn Oliver found Lauer for the woman down goal and the Valkyries were back within a goal at 16-15. Before Converse was able to tie the game, Montevallo ran out the clock and escaped Spartanburg with a win.  

Scoring Breakdown
1^st Quarter:

• 12:46, Chloe Norman, Unassisted, Montevallo, 1-0
• 11:00, Kiara Crawford, Unassisted, Montevallo, 2-0
• 9:51, Ellery Shearer, assisted by Jenna Piazza, Montevallo, 3-0
• 8:34, Becky Reinhard, unassisted, Montevallo, 3-1
• 6:01, Jenna Piazza, unassisted, Montevallo, 4-1
• 5:30, Mikaela Barbieri, unassisted, Montevallo, 5-1
• 4:50, Ellery Shearer, unassisted, Montevallo, 6-1
• 3:48, Ellery Shearer, unassisted, Montevallo, 7-1
• 3:37, Hailey Obenchain, unassisted, Montevallo, 7-2
• 2:31, Chloe Norman, assisted by Kiley Shea, Montevallo, 8-2
• 1:51, Becky Reinhard, assisted by Izzy Eby, Montevallo, 8-3
• 0:45, Mikaela Barbieri, unassisted, Montevallo, 9-3
• 0:09, Izzy Eby, unassisted, Montevallo, 9-4

2^nd Quarter:

• 14:12, Corynn Psychoghios, assisted by Hailey Obenchain, Montevallo, 9-5
• 11:19, Gencie Coan, unassisted, Montevallo, 9-6
• 10:56, Claire Withington, assisted by Kiley Shea, Montevallo, 10-6
• 5:42, Asha Jamieson, unassisted, Montevallo, 11-6
• 4:36, Kiley Shea, unassisted, Montevallo, 12-6  
   

3^rd Quarter:

• 13:37, Ellery Shearer, unassisted, Montevallo, 13-6
• 11:12, Ellery Shearer, unassisted, Montevallo, 14-6
• 9:43, Karter Lauer, assisted by Hailey Obenchain, Montevallo, 14-7
• 4:11, Becky Reinhard, assisted by Hailey Obenchain, Montevallo, 14-8
• 3:19, Claire Withington, unassisted, Montevallo, 15-8
• 1:47, Becky Reinhard, assisted by Gencie Coan, Montevallo, 15-9
• 0:02, Ellery Shearer, assisted by Mikaela Barbieri, Montevallo, 16-9  
   

4^th Quarter:

• 14:44, Hailey Obenchain, unassisted, Montevallo, 16-10
• 11:18, Gencie Coan, assisted by Brooklyn Walker, Montevallo, 16-11
• 10:35, Hailey Obenchain, unassisted, Montevallo, 16-12
• 7:25, Becky Reinhard, unassisted, Montevallo, 16-13
• 3:20, Hailey Obenchain, assisted by Becky Reinhard, Montevallo, 16-14
• 1:55, Karter Lauer (Woman Down), assisted by Kaitlyn Oliver, Montevallo, 16-15

 
Notables:
 
Points – Obenchain (7), Reinhard (6), Coan (3), Eby (2), Lauer (2)
 
Goals – Reinhard (5), Obenchain (4), Coan (2), Lauer (2)
 
Assists – Obenchain (3)
 
Saves – Collins (6)
 
Next Up:

• Converse will be back in action next Saturday afternoon at Lander University. The game is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. in Greenwood, S.C.

Follow Converse
https://www.facebook.com/ConverseValkyries
Twitter: @ConverseUWLAX
Instagram: @conversewlacrosse
Youtube.com/Converse Athletics