HICKORY, N.C. --- Lenoir-Rhyne University rallied from a six-goal deficit in the second half to defeat Tusculum University 17-13 in South Atlantic Conference women's lacrosse Saturday afternoon at Moretz Stadium.
The Bears (8-7, 7-3 SAC) trailed the Pioneers (7-8, 3-6 SAC) 11-5 with just over eight minutes left in the third quarter, but outscored Tusculum 12-2 over the final 23 minutes to complete the comeback. Lenoir-Rhyne outshot Tusculum 31-4 in the second half and 49-24 for the match, while forcing the Pioneers into 16 second-half turnovers and 25 in total.
Ellie Campbell scored five goals to lead the Bears, with four goals from Alexa Burghardt and two each from Chloe Christensen, Abbey Walker and Kirra Olson. Kaitlyn Cavanaugh, Cassell Richardson and Hannah Thomas each had a pair of assists for the Bears.
Cassidy Bourne, Sophia Didzbalis and Elisha Stack each scored three goals for the Pioneers, with two goals from Kayla Nuccio and a goal each from Liberty Jones and Mackenzie Sherrod. Tusculum led 10-5 at halftime but could not stop the Lenoir-Rhyne onslaught in the second half, which included a 9-1 run over the final 17 1/2 minutes.
Didzbalis scored twice in the first 2 1/2 minutes to give the Pioneers a quick 2-0 lead, and Stack exchanged goals with Campbell as the Pioneers led 4-2 after five minutes. Sherrod and Nuccio added goals to help push the Pioneers ahead 6-4 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, the Pioneers went up 9-4 as Stack, Jones and Bourne scored in the first 3 1/2 minutes. The Bears were shut out in the quarter until a goal from Burghardt with 1:10 remaining, but Nuccio answered with one second left to put Tusculum on top 10-5 at half.
Bourne scored three minutes into the third quarter to give the Pioneers their largest lead at 11-5, but the Bears' surge did not begin until Olson scored with 8:03 remaining. Bourne scored with 5:10 to go to extend Tusculum's lead to 12-8, but Lenoir-Rhyne roared back to tie the game at 12-12 on a goal from Olson with 10:10 left.
Campbell put the Bears on top for the first time in the game with 7:21 to play, triggering a run of three goals in just under a minute. Didzbalis scored with 5:45 left to pull Tusculum back within 15-13, but goals from Walker and Jayden Wheeler in the final five minutes closed out the scoring.
Zuza Stasiak led the Pioneers with four draw controls while Mya Halladay had three to tie the program single-season record of 81 draw controls set by current graduate assistant coach Lucy Brewer during the 2024 season. Campbell led the Bears with 11 draw controls and three caused turnovers, while Wheeler had three ground balls and five caused turnovers and Christensen added six ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.
Lenoir-Rhyne was a perfect 19-for-19 on clears in the match while Tusculum was 20-for-24 on clear attempts. The Bears had a 20-9 edge in ground balls and a 20-13 advantage in draws, including 11-6 in the second half.
Tusculum goalkeeper Emily White recorded 20 saves, the second-highest single-game mark in program history behind her 22 saves against Limestone on Feb. 21, 2024. Sally Friesen finished with four saves for the Bears.
The Pioneers will host Emory & Henry on Saturday, April 19 at 1 p.m. at Pioneer Field on Senior Day.
