HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University women's lacrosse team put forth an outstanding team effort en route to a 9-7 victory over Davidson College on Sunday afternoon inside Vert Stadium.
HPU held a 6-4 halftime lead, before Davidson used a 3-0 run to tie the game at 7-7 with 12:08 to play. But the Panthers answered back with the final two goals of the game to secure the win over the Wildcats.
"I'm very proud of our team and how our players kept their composure throughout the game," head coach Lyndsey Boswell said. "We had some upperclassmen leading the way and the freshmen and younger girls followed. It was great to see. I'm excited with how our team remained focused throughout the game."
The Panthers put forth an outstanding defensive effort, as the Panthers caused a season-high 12 turnovers and forced Davidson to commit 17 miscues overall. HPU dominated the 50/50 balls while posting a season-best 26 ground balls. It marked the most ground balls for the Panthers since an April 6, 2014 game vs. Coastal Carolina. Eight Panthers caused at least one turnover in the game. Freshman Olivia Nostrant picked up a career-best four ground balls and caused two turnovers for the Panthers.
Offensively, seven Panthers posted a point in the game, led by senior Kendyl Gardner who tallied three goals and picked up two ground balls. Freshman Erica Perrotta posted a career-best three points (2g, 1a) while picking up three draw controls on the day. Sophomore Samantha Brown added three points on a goal and two assists and junior Leah Pace chipped in a goal, three ground balls, three draw controls and two caused turnovers.
Junior Emily Meier added a goal and an assist while fellow junior Kristina Renner posted an assist and picked up four ground balls on the day.
HPU held strong advantages in shots (24-16) and ground balls (26-14) and was +9 (19-12) in shots on goal.
Meier posted the first goal of the game to put HPU up 1-0, but Davidson posted the next three scores to build a 3-1 lead with 15:20 to play in the first half. HPU stormed back with a 4-0 run, including a pair of goals from Gardner, to build a 5-3 edge with 5:49 to go. The teams traded a pair of goals over the final minutes of the half and HPU took a 6-4 lead into the break.
A goal from Perrotta put HPU up 7-4 at the 27:58 mark of the second half, but Davidson rallied with three-straight goals to tie the score at 7-7 with 12:08 to play. But from there, Perrotta picked up a critical goal to make it 8-7 with 10:02 remaining and Brown notched a goal with 4:34 left to ice the game for the Panthers.
With the victory, HPU improves to 7-1 all-time against Davidson.
The Panthers return to action Saturday (March 21) with a 1 p.m. contest at Villanova (2-4, 0-0 BIG EAST).
#GoHPU