SALISBURY, N.C. — The Catawba College women's lacrosse team made its senior send-off a sweet one, prevailing 10-4 over Mars Hill on Saturday afternoon at Shuford Stadium.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba (7-9, 3-6 SAC) maintained a 22-13 advantage in shooting, doubling up Mars Hill (3-10, 0-9 SAC) in on-target tries at 18-9
- Combining for 58 turnovers, the contest saw the blue and white commit six fewer miscues than the Lions (32-26)
- Each side successfully cleared the ball 17 times but Catawba wound up being more effective with a .708 success rate against the Lions' .630
- The Catawba Indians snatched up 26 ground balls compared to Mars Hill's 21, while the Lions had the edge on the draw at 9-7
- Elli Ferraro started the game for Catawba in net, exiting after four seconds to a standing ovation as Ava Kunza and Ashlea Nieland split halves to combine for five saves; for MHU, Victoria Kaercher went all but 1:21 with eight saves on 18 shots faced (.444)
INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Ava Stanza collected a career-high-tying five points on three goals and two assists, finding paydirt with each of her three shots
- Mary Sorvillo supplied two goals and one assist in her final game at Shuford Stadium as the Queen City native collected two ground balls and a pair of draw controls
- Madison Widecki and Abby Shuren also braced with two goals apiece, followed by Skylar Mullin who scored once to round out the scoresheet; Catawba's five scorers totaled 10 shots, finding the back of the net on each attempt
- Kylie Harris chipped in an assist with two caused turnovers and two ground balls
- Senior Audrey Adelsberger had an exemplary day on defense with six ground balls and three caused turnovers
- Allison Filosa scrounged up four ground balls as she, Meredith Marchetti and Aly De La Noval joined Harris on the list of players with two swipes
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
- Shuren got the Catawba Indians on the board 87 seconds into the game on a possession that stemmed from a Filosa takeaway
- Mullin and Stanza followed with scores on back-to-back free position opportunities, creating a 3-0 lead just six minutes in
- Eight seconds after earning their first woman-up advantage with a Lion green card, the Catawba Indians were shown a green themselves to nullify the opportunity
- Nonetheless, Catawba scored an 11-on-11 goal via Shuren before Sorvillo tickled the twine for the first time, closing the opening period at 5-0
Second Quarter
- Sorvillo made her second strike a quick one, scoring on the Catawba Indians' second possession of the quarter with help from Stanza
- Mars Hill killed off a green card as Makenna Olson swiped possession away 20 seconds later it was dealt; however, the Lions failed to get a shot off and turned it over, setting up Sorvillo to hit Widecki for the game's seventh goal
- The Lions threatened to ruin the shutout bid when Brooklyn Nemitz smashed the post with a promising shot, but the blue and white forced MHU to end their last six possessions of the half with turnovers
Third Quarter
- MHU won the draw to start the second half before Aurora Hornbuckle tipped a pass to take the rock away, then helped draw a yellow card; Harris assisted Stanza 11 seconds later to halt the scoring drought
- Shortly after the Catawba Indians' power play expired, Abby Cleveland received help from a Grace Hinkel pass to tally the first goal for Mars Hill
- Midway through the quarter, Stanza and Widecki scored 40 seconds apart to reach the double-digit mark
- Both sides were shown and killed woman-down situations before the end of the third quarter, making it a 10-1 game with 15 minutes to play
Fourth Quarter
- The Lions capitalized on a Catawba green card as Madison Welch found the twine for a woman-advantage dart
- Scoring went quiet for just over eight minutes until a 12-on-10 scenario led to Brooklyn Nemitz netting a second power-play goal for the Lions
- Catawba repelled MHU for the rest of the woman-down situation, but the guests came out of a late timeout and Nevaeh Louden tossed a dart inside the final minute
- Sarah Maier won the final draw, allowing the Catawba Indians to cruise away with their seventh victory of the year
UP NEXT
The Catawba Indians' season finale is next Wednesday, Apr. 22, at 16th-ranked Wingate. Opening draw against the Bulldogs is slated for 4 p.m.
