BANNER ELK, N.C. – The Converse University lacrosse team dominated from start to finish on Wednesday night as they defeated Lees-McRae 23-7 at Tate Field.
With tonight's win the Valkyries snap a three game losing streak and improve to 4-6 overall and 3-1 in Conference Carolinas action. Meanwhile, Lees-McRae drops to 4-8 overall and 0-5 in Conference Carolinas play.
The Valkyries 23 goals are tied for the seventh most goals scored in a single game in program history. The Valkyries last scored exactly 23 goals against Shepherd on March 20, 2010. The Valkyries 15 team assists are tied for the sixth most assists in a single game, the Valkyries last accomplished this feat at Chowan last April. The Valkyries 38 points are the fifth most in a single game, this is the first time they have recorded exactly 38 points. During the 2024 season the Valkyries recorded 42 points on three different occasions.
Becky Reinhard led the team with a six goal performance on Wednesday evening. Reinhard is now the second player in program history to record 150 career goals and 160 career points.
Hailey Obenchain was the most active on the offensive end tonight, scoring four goals and assisting on seven other goal scoring opportunities. This is the third time in her career that Obenchain has recorded at least seven assists in a single game and second time she has recorded at least 11 points in a contest.
Zoey Jacobs finished with a three goal and three assist performance for the Valkyries.
Kaitlyn Oliver added a hat-trick in the win, while
Maia Marquez and
Karter Lauer each had two goals.
Ainsley Cua,
Ally Benken and
Megan Holleran rounded out the scoring with one goal each.
Brooklyn Walker and Bencken both had two assists, while Marquez added one assist in the win.
Jacobs also finished with a team high five ground balls and two caused turnovers in the win. Obenchain finished with a team high 10 draw control victories and
Abigail Skee had a team best eight saves.
Lees-McRae scored the opening goal of the game less two minutes into the contest. Then just 44 seconds apart from one another,
Karter Lauer scored the first two goals of the game for Converse. Obenchain, Marquez, Jacobs and Reinhard all scored in the first quarter to give Converse a 7-2 edge going into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Oliver, Holleran, Jacobs, and Reinhard all scored for the Valkyries. Converse outscored Lees-McRae 6-2 in the second quarter and took a 13-4 lead into the halftime intermission.
The third quarter was closely contested as the Valkyries narrowly outscored Lees-McRae 4-3. Going into the fourth quarter the Valkyries held a 17-7 lead and a running clock advantage over the Bobcats. The Valkyries offense continued to go to work as they scored six more goals in the final period of the night.
Next Up:
The Converse lacrosse team will back in action at home on Saturday afternoon when they battle Young Harris at 3:00 p.m. Senior Day festivities will start around 10-15 minutes before game time.
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Twitter:
@ConverseUWLAX
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