TIFFIN, Ohio - The No. 7 Florida Southern College women's lacrosse team breezed past the No. 17 Roberts Wesleyan College Redhawks in their first neutral-site contest of the year, winning 15-10 on Friday afternoon.
Patricia Werker started the game in net for the Moccasins (7-1), stopping eleven shots to slow the Redhawks (5-3) and win her fourth game of the year in a complete-game effort between the pipes.
Hailey Daleo scored five goals for the second consecutive game to lead the Mocs' offense, converting on seven shot attempts to bring her total to a team-leading 25 goals on the season.
Abby McFerren and
Madison Tare each continued to produce in the attacking end as well. McFerren tallied five points while Tare had her second six-point outing in as many games.
The two teams exchanged goals to start the game, but Florida Southern never trailed in the contest. Tare started the scoring, but the Redhawks answered quickly. McFerren would regain the Moccasin lead just thirteen seconds later with the help of a feed from
Lizzy Lynch.
Again, Roberts Wesleyan responded with an equalizer, before
Brenna Smith broke the tie less than a minute later. She notched her second goal just moments after to build a 4-2 lead in the first quarter. The Redhawks responded to tie the game at four with 2:43 to go in the first quarter.
Daleo broke the tie with her first strike of the game at the 1:01 mark of the quarter. Werker made a save on a free-position shot, and the Mocs were able to transition cleanly as
Ellie Griffin assisted the Mocs' leading scorer to give the team a one-goal advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Roberts Wesleyan tied the game for the fourth time early on in the second quarter, and the teams remained knotted up at five until the 7:50 mark, as Tare found the back of the net, starting a four-goal scoring spree to close out the first half. Daleo scored twice, and McFerren picked up her second goal of the game.
Despite a strong third quarter, the Redhawks were unable to overcome the tenacious Florida Southern offense, which outscored Roberts Wesleyan 4-3 in the third quarter. Daleo scored twice in the frame, while Smith and McFerren each completed their respective hat tricks to send the Moccasins to the fourth quarter with a 13-8 lead.
The Redhawks scored again in the fourth quarter to momentarily cut the lead to four before Lynch and Tare each picked up another goal to keep Roberts Wesleyan out of striking distance.
By the sound of the final horn, the Moccasins led 15-10, securing their sixth straight win of the season.
Five different Mocs tallied three or more points, as the offense continued to roll heading into Sunday's contest against Tiffin University. The team is set to return to Berend Field on April 6 against No. 16 Tampa after their conference season gets underway on April 2 at Lynn.
