SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Converse University Lacrosse team defeated Colorado State Pueblo 15-14 in their home opener on Monday afternoon.

With the win the Valkyries snap a two-game losing streak and improve to 2-2 overall on the season. Meanwhile, CSU Pueblo drops to 2-1 on the season. Becky Reinhard led the team with eight goals on the afternoon, Kaitlyn Oliver finished four goals and Brooklyn Walker added two goals. Karter Lauer also scored for the Valkyries on Monday afternoon. Zoey Jacobs led the team with six assists on day, Hailey Obenchain was second on the team with three assists, followed by Lauer with two assists and Brooke Bartlett with one assist.

Less than a minute into the game, Lauer found Reinhard for the first goal of the contest. A few minutes later Obenchain and Reinhard connected on the Valkyries second goal of the afternoon. With 7:48 to play in the first period, Obenchain found Brooklyn Walker for the third goal of the game for Converse.

Holding a 3-0 advantage, CSU Pueblo scored their first goal of the game with three minutes left on the clock in the first period. In the second quarter of action, CSU Pueblo got on the board first with a woman up goal at the 13 minute mark of the period.

Lauer scored an unassisted goal with 9:45 to play in the quarter to give the Valkyries a 4-2 advantage once more. Back-to-back goals by the Thunder Wolves had the match tied at four with 6:30 to play in the half. Kaitlyn Oliver then scored back-to-back goals to give the Valkyries two goal advantage once more. The Thunder Wolves scored two more before the halftime horn and the game was tied 6-6 going into the break.

The third quarter was a high scoring back-and-forth period between the two schools. Each team scored six goals in the period and the match was tied at 12 going into the final quarter of action. Reinhard scored half of her eight goals in the third period alone.

Kaitlyn Oliver and Reinhard both scored in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, giving Converse a 14-12 advantage over CSU Pueblo. The Thunder Wolves countered with a pair of goals of their own, tying the match at 14. Then with 7:31 to play in the contest, Jacobs found Reinhard for her eighth goal of the game. The Valkyries were able to hold firm on defense and run out the clock against CSU Pueblo to preserve the victory.

Next Up:
The Converse lacrosse team is traveling to Newberry on Saturday afternoon.   

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