GREENWOOD - The Lander Women's Lacrosse team trailed 1-0 for 70 seconds before Izzy Olson (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) tied the game and from there the Bearcats never looked back as that goal started a spell of 20 straight goals from the Blue and Gold that resulted in a 20-3 victory over the Tusculum Pioneers on Saturday afternoon at Van Taylor Stadium.
Lander improves to 2-1 while Tusculum drops to 1-2.
The 17-point margin is tied for the largest in program history, happening on two other occasions in the 2022 season against Coker and Southern Wesleyan.
Ten different players scored for Lander, led by Mickey Burnett (Baltimore, Md.) with four and 12 different players recorded at least a point, led by Olson and Alyssa Suchan (Leduc, Alberta, Canada) each with five.
Two goalies saw action for the Bearcats as
Taryn Samons (Fort Mill, S.C.)Â made five saves in the first half and
Zoe Cotheran (Spartanburg, S.C.) made six saves in the second half in her first minutes of the season.
Emmy Peterson (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) scored back to back goals to give Lander a 3-1 lead before goals from Ella Benson (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), Kylie Fragala (Atlanta, Ga.), Suchan, and Burnett made it 7-1 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter saw more goals from Burnett and Peterson while Brooke Kelly (Bel Air, Md.) and Mary Claire Robinson (Lexington, S.C.) each added their first of the game. Robinson's was her first of the season and gave Lander a 13-1 lead going into halftime.
Because of the running clock rule, Lander only scored three goals in the third from Olson and Kasey Bronco (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) to give them a 16-1 lead after three.
The fourth quarter saw Robinson add her second of the game and Amelia McCauley (Clover, S.C.) score her first of the season to give Lander the 20 goals they finished with.
The Pioneers got two goals in the last three minutes for their first goals since the first quarter to cut the lead down to 17.
The Bearcats return to action next Saturday, February 24th for a neutral site game against the Embry-Riddle Eagles. First draw is set for 2:00 PM in Savannah, Ga.
