NEWBERRY, S.C. – On a chilly afternoon at Setzler Field, the Lander women's lacrosse team earned a 7-6 victory over the Newberry College Wolves for their fourth straight win.
Lander (4-1) topped the previously undefeated Newberry, who fell to 3-1.
This week's Gulf South Conference Offensive Player of the Week,
Mickey Burnett, scored three goals for the third consecutive game and collected two ground balls to help lead the offensive attack.
Matching Burnett with a trio of goals was
Kylie Fragala, who has eight goals over the last three outings; Fragala also had two draw controls.
Izzy Olson added the other Bearcat goal in addition to four draw controls and a ground ball.
Zoe Kusnitz helped lead the defensive effort with two caused turnovers while
Kara Krusbe saved seven shots for a .538 save percentage.
Olson got the scoring started 1:16 into the game for an early 1-0 lead. Newberry responded six minutes later as the game sat tied at 1 halfway through the opening quarter.
Fragala scored her first with 4:42 left in the first, and Lander carried that 2-1 advantage all the way into halftime as neither side scored in the second quarter.
The Blue and Gold stretched the lead to 4-1 over the first four minutes of the second half as Burnett found the back of the net twice, though the Wolves pulled within one heading into the last quarter.
Burnett made it 5-3 with 12 minutes remaining, and Fragala tacked on another to increase the lead to 6-3 a minute later.
Newberry again trimmed its deficit to one, 6-5, with three minutes to go. Fragala then converted a free-position chance with 1:33 left which gave Lander enough breathing room for the win.
Lander returns to Van Taylor Stadium this Sunday for a matinee versus Palm Beach Atlantic. Game time is scheduled for 11 a.m.
