SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Converse University lacrosse team fell 15-11 to Belmont Abbey on Thursday night at Weisiger Stadium.
With the loss the Valkyries drop to 7-9 overall and 5-4 in Conference Carolinas action. Meanwhile, Belmont Abbey improved to 11-5 overall and 7-1 in Conference Carolinas play. Both teams will meet again on Monday evening over in Belmont, N.C., for the Conference Carolinas Tournament. Belmont Abbey will be the three seed, while Converse will be the sixth seed in this year's tournament.
Becky Reinhard led the Valkyries offense on Thursday night with a four goal performance.
Hailey Obenchain finished second on the team with three goals, followed by
Karter Lauer with two goals, while
Maia Marquez and
Megan Holleran each contributed a goal in the loss.
Belmont Abbey opened up the game with a goal just two minutes into the contest. The game settled down from there on as both teams took lengthy possessions in the early minutes of the contest.
The Crusaders scored again at the 6:41 mark of the period, but
Hailey Obenchain got the Valkyries on the board with a goal a few moments later. Belmont Abbey scored once more before the first quarter ended and took a 3-1 advantage into the second period.
In the first three minutes of the second quarter, Belmont Abbey scored three consecutive goals to race out to a 6-1 advantage over the Valkyries.
Maia Marquez scored midway through the period to end the Valkyries scoring drought. The two teams then alternated goals the rest of the period, with Reinhard scoring the last of half with a 1:36 to play in the quarter. Going into the final period of action, the Valkyries trailed 9-7.
Following a slow offensive third goal, a total of 10 goals erupted in the fourth quarter. Belmont Abbey scored the first three of the period, followed by an Obenchain goal with 5:46 to go in the game. The Crusaders then scored twice more before Reinhard countered with two goals of her own. Belmont Abby scored once more and
Megan Holleran scored the final goal of the game.
Next Up:
The Converse lacrosse team is headed back to the postseason and will face Belmont Abbey on Monday afternoon in Belmont, N.C. The match is set to start at 4:00 p.m.
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