Skip to main content

#4 FSC Women’s Lacrosse Prevails over #13 Wingate in Back-and-Forth Affair

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in , , , .

via FSC press release/website

BOX SCORE

WINGATE, N.C. – The No. 4 Florida Southern College women’s lacrosse team triumphed over No. 13 Wingate University by a final score of 14-12 on Sunday afternoon at Irwin Belk Stadium in Wingate, N.C., for their second consecutive road win against a ranked opponent.
 
The Moccasins (2-0) used a strong third quarter to overcome the Bulldogs (2-1) in a game that saw neither team lead by more than two goals after Wingate jumped out to a 4-1 lead to start the game.
 
Florida Southern was led by Giana Murphy, who picked up her second hat trick of the season, while Gina Verrone was once again effective on the draw, earning eight draw controls with four ground balls and three caused turnovers on the day.
 
McKenzie Gaghan earned her second win in as many starts, as she faced 22 total shots from the high-octane Bulldogs.
 
Wingate opened the scoring in the game’s first minute, as the Mocs found themselves trailing for the first time in the young season. On the ensuing draw control, the Bulldogs extended their early lead after a caused turnover, giving the home team a 2-0 advantage.
 
Abby McFerren put Florida Southern on the board after an excellent defensive play from sophomore Charlie Laye, who started the offensive rush after a caused turnover and ground ball pickup.
 
After the early goals, the teams went scoreless for over eight minutes before Wingate tacked on two quick tallies to take a 4-1 lead with three minutes to play in the first quarter.
 
The Moccasins responded well in the final moments of the opening frame, as senior Sammy Gorrasi scored her first goal of the season to trim the deficit. After winning the subsequent draw control, McFerren notched her second goal of the game just thirty seconds later, making it 4-3 in the waning minutes of the quarter.
 
Florida Southern managed to tie the game at four as Lizzy Lynch earned a free position attempt with just over a minute to play in the period, converting for her third goal of the season.
 
The teams engaged in fierce back-and-forth play over the course of the second quarter, with neither team taking more than a one-goal lead over the course of the frame.
 
Wingate scored to reclaim the lead early in the quarter before Jackie Stoller converted on a free position attempt for her first of two goals on the day to tie the game at five.
 
After defensive stands from both sides, the Bulldogs once again snatched the lead, scoring with just over five minutes remaining in the half, but the Mocs were quick to answer again, as Stoller scored her second of the quarter just a minute later to once again tie the game at 6.
 
The teams traded goals again, with Laye scoring to give the Mocs a brief lead, the Bulldogs tying it again, and Murphy eventually scoring on a free position shot to once again give the Mocs a one-goal lead, with the score 8-7. The Bulldogs notched back-to-back scores to make it a 9-8 game at the half.
 
The third quarter saw much of the same for the Mocs, with the team tying the game on a goal from Hailey Daleo, which was once again answered by the Bulldogs, who reclaimed the lead with the score 10-9.
 
With roughly five minutes to play in the frame, Florida Southern broke through with a three-goal scoring run, Murphy, Lynch, and sophomore Ellie Griffin each tallied to put the Mocs up 12-10, their first two-goal lead of the day.
 
The teams traded goals to end the third, with Daleo scoring to keep the Mocs ahead by two, the score 13-11, headed into the final quarter of play.
 
The fourth quarter saw strong defensive play, with the teams going scoreless until there was just over seven minutes remaining. Wingate capitalized on a turnover in the defensive zone to trim the deficit to one with time winding down.
 
Murphy scored a massive goal to complete the hat trick with just under two minutes to play, giving the Mocs another two-goal buffer near the end of regulation.
 
In the fourth quarter, the Mocs forced six turnovers, won all three draw controls, and Gaghan made a big stop in net to hang on to the lead for a hard-fought road victory.
 
Florida Southern moves to 2-0 on the season after the pair of road victories. The team now turns their attention to the home opener on Friday, Feb. 24 when they take on second-ranked Adelphi at 6:00 p.m. in a highly anticipated matchup between two top-five nationally-ranked teams.

Scoring Summary

1st Period
14:12WUWU – Leah Knowles01
12:40WUWU – Bella Pellet Assisted by Paige Kamer02
11:34FSCFSC – Abby McFerren Assisted by Ellie Griffin12
03:03WUWU – Leah Knowles13
02:34WUWU – Meghan Higgins Assisted by Kaleigh Wilgeroth14
02:07FSCFSC – Sammy Gorrasi Assisted by Lizzy Lynch24
01:38FSCFSC – Abby McFerren Assisted by Jackie Stoller34
01:07FSCFSC – Lizzy Lynch44
2nd Period
13:20WUWU – Bella Pellet45
11:51FSCFSC – Jackie Stoller55
05:18WUWU – Leah Knowles Assisted by Paige Kamer56
03:56FSCFSC – Jackie Stoller Assisted by Giana Murphy66
03:25FSCFSC – Charlie Laye76
02:44WUWU – Avery Scherer Assisted by Leah Knowles77
01:56FSCFSC – Giana Murphy87
01:06WUWU – Bella Pellet Assisted by Kaleigh Wilgeroth88
00:23WUWU – Becca Ruiz Assisted by Leah Knowles89
3rd Period
13:45FSCFSC – Hailey Daleo Assisted by Lizzy Lynch99
12:12WUWU – Bella Pellet910
07:39FSCFSC – Giana Murphy1010
05:16FSCFSC – Ellie Griffin1110
04:48FSCFSC – Lizzy Lynch Assisted by Sammy Gorrasi1210
03:59WUWU – Julia Garvin Assisted by Claire Fuchs1211
02:10FSCFSC – Hailey Daleo Assisted by Jackie Stoller1311
4th Period
07:20WUWU – Leah Knowles1312
01:46FSCFSC – Giana Murphy Assisted by Abby McFerren1412

Sponsored