• Sophomore Brooke Stevens notched a career-best four points (3g, 1a)
• HPU shut out the Runnin’ Bulldogs in the second half
• The Panthers will now square off with No. 3 seed Campbell on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Big South semifinals (Rock Hill, S.C.)
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The second-seeded High Point University women’s lacrosse team (12-5) used a balance attack on both sides of the field to earn a 19-2 Big South quarterfinal victory over Gardner-Webb on Saturday afternoon inside Vert Stadium.
With the win, the Panthers advance to the Big South semifinals for the fourth time in four seasons. HPU will take on No. 3 seed Campbell on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Rock Hill, S.C.
“I’m really happy with the contributions we received across the roster,” head coach Lyndsey Boswell said. “We had 12 different scorers and that balance is great to see. Our goal is to win a championship and we took the first step towards that goal today.”
Six starters and six reserves made up that 12-player scoring attack for the Purple & White. Sophomore Brooke Stevens led the Panthers with a career-high four points on a personal-best three goals and an assist.
Junior Samantha Brown added four points on two goals and two assists, while seniors Emily Meier (2g, 1a), Kristina Renner (1g, 2a) and Leah Pace (1g, 2a) also notched three points on the day. Renner tallied a game-high four draw controls as well while Pace picked up three ground balls and two draws.
Sophomore Darla Poulin chipped in a career-best three points (2g, 1a) and seniors Allie Foard and Kasey Callaway contributed two goals each for the Panthers.
Defensively, First Team All-Big South selection Christina Del Sesto led the Panthers with three caused turnovers and also picked up four ground balls, while freshman goaltender Molly Andrews made five saves and allowed just two goals in 48:28 of action. Freshman Victoria Lomangino played the remaining 11:32 and made a save while shutting out the Runnin’ Bulldogs.
HPU held large advantages in shots (29-9), ground balls (24-9), caused turnovers (12-3) and draw controls (14-9) in the game. The Panthers were feisty defensively throughout while limiting GWU to just 5-of-13 on the clear.
Andrews and the HPU defense held Gardner-Webb scoreless over the game’s first 20 minutes and took advantage of that strong play offensively. High Point opened the game on an 11-0 run, with two goals each from Brown and Meier leading the way for the Purple & White.
The Panthers led 12-2 at the half, then used a 3-0 spurt over the second half’s first four minutes to build a 15-2 advantage. Poulin scored back-to-back goals to make it 17-2 with 12:20 to play and Stevens scored the final two goals of the contest to complete the 19-2 victory. HPU shut out the Runnin’ Bulldogs in the second half.
With the victory, High Point improves to 20-0 all-time against Big South foes in Vert Stadium and 5-0 at home in Big South Championship play.
The Big South semifinal game vs. No. 3 Campbell will be streamed live on the Big South Network Thursday at 7 p.m. in Rock Hill. With a win, HPU would move on to the championship game Saturday at noon on ESPN3.