GREENWOOD, S.C. - After a dominating win on Friday, the Lander Women's Lacrosse team held one of the best draw control teams in the country in check and used a 7-3 first period to beat the Lee Flames for the first time in three meetings, 15-10, on Sunday afternoon at Van Taylor Stadium.
The Bearcats controlled the draw circle all game, winning the margin 22-7. Coming into the game Lee ranked in the top-ten nationally in draw control percentage and averaged over 16 per game. Autumn Huskey set a new program record, bringing in 13 draws by herself.
Offensively, Alyssa Suchan and Emmy Peterson led the way once again as Suchan joined her teammate in eclipsing 200 points in her career. Suchan ended the day with a team leading six goals while Peterson added five goals and three assists, ending the weekend with 17 points.
In the cage, Taryn Samons got her second consecutive win as she stopped 15 shots, including two free position shots.
Lander got off to a hot start as they would take back to back draw controls by Huskey and find the back of the cage with the first goal coming from Amelia McCauley and the second coming from Suchan.
Lee would get on the scoreboard to cut the lead in half but the Bearcats would rally off three straight goals from Suchan, Burnett, and Peterson.
Lee would score two straight off a free-position and a man-up opportunity to cut the lead back down to two but Lander would close the quarter on a 2-0 run after forcing a clock violation from Lee. Emmy Peterson would score the first and assist Brooke Kelly on the second to give Lander a 7-3 lead after 15 minutes.
After a ten goal first quarter both defenses would step up the rest of the game. The Bearcats would fight off three consecutive free position opportunities from Lee before finally getting the clear and ending the threat.Â
Both teams would be held scoreless for almost ten minutes before Emmy Peterson would slot home a goal coming off an Alyssa Suchan assist to give Suchan her 200th career point. Lee would score two straight to cut the lead back down to three at 8-5 but Peterson would slot home another goal with just over three minutes to go to give Lander a 9-5 lead. Lander would have another chance to extend the lead right before halftime but would get called for an offensive foul within the arc so the Bearcats would settle for a four goal lead going into the break.
The teams would alternate goals for the first part of the third quarter with Lander's goals coming from Suchan and Kelly.
However, with just over eight minutes to go, there would be a shot clock malfunction that would result in a lengthy delay with Lander leading 11-7.Â
Lee would score shortly after the delay and it seemed that the stoppage took the momentum from the Bearcats but Emmy Peterson would score and then assist on another Suchan goal to flip the momentum back in the Blue and Gold's favor as they would take a 13-8 lead going into the final quarter.
Lander would struggle to start the fourth as they would commit three straight turnovers, however, each time Taryn Samons would save the ensuing Lee shot to prevent them from cutting into the lead any further.Â
After the third shot,
Alyssa Suchan would slot home her fifth goal to give Lander a six goal lead with eight and a half minutes to play.
Lee would not go away quietly as they would have one last charge and score two straight goals to cut the lead down to 14-10.
However, after that second goal, Autumn Huskey would get the draw control with just over five minutes to go and it would lead to a nearly three minute possession for Lander that resulted in three shots, the final of which would put the game out of reach with a goal from Suchan.
Tiyonna Hall would force one last turnover and Lander would see out their first win ever over the Flames.
The Bearcats hit the road on Wednesday for their final non-conference game of the season against Belmont Abbey. The Bearcats won the last matchup between the two teams by rallying from nine goals down and winning in overtime. This will be the last game for the Bearcats before a two week break from action before their next game on April 19th at Young Harris. The Bearcats will close the season with a home matchup with nationally-ranked Flagler on April 22nd.
