#10 Mocs Breeze Past #19 Bulldogs, Advance to South Region Championship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In the first round of the NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship, the No. 10 Florida Southern College women's lacrosse team defeated No. 19 Wingate University, 19-6, behind a strong performance from the Moccasin offense, which out-shot their opponent, 35-19, over the course of the contest.
 
Florida Southern earned the second seed in the south region after going 15-3 during the regular season, capturing the Sunshine State Conference championship on May 1 with a 20-10 victory over the fourth-seed Tampa Spartans.
 
Wingate, the third seed in the region, also came into Friday's contest with a record of 15-3, having lost to the Moccasins earlier this season, 19-13, on March 9.
 
Florida Southern's Patricia Werker started in goal, earning the win over the Bulldogs and their keeper, Megan Biase. Werker, who was named an All-American by USA Lacrosse earlier this week, stopped five shots, earning her tenth win of the year.
 
The teams battled weather for the majority of the contest, but despite the rain, it was the down-pour of Florida Southern goals that highlighted this first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament.
 
The Moccasins got out to a quick start, as junior Madison Tare scored her first of three goals just over a minute into the game to give her team a lead that would not be relinquished for the remainder of the contest. Katie Yeagle followed Tare's early tally with another goal to put the Mocs up 2-0.
 
Wingate responded with their first score of the game before Abby McFerren found the back of the net twice in a span of just over a minute to again give the Mocs a multi-goal advantage. The teams exchanged goals for the remainder of the first quarter, with Florida Southern leading 5-3 at the end of the frame.
 
Despite a tenacious first-quarter effort from the third-seeded Bulldogs, Florida Southern was able to pull away with a huge second quarter, outscoring Wingate 8-1 to take a big lead into the half.
 
The team entered the second quarter on a three-goal scoring run, as McFerren scored her third of the game, sandwiched between a pair of strikes from Brenna Smith.  Wingate's Danielle Scarfoglier stopped the streak only for the Mocs to unleash five straight goals to end the half. Tare and Smith each completed their respective hat tricks, while McFerren picked up her fourth of the game before freshman Ellie Griffin scored to send the Mocs to the half, leading 13-4.
 
The game slowed down in the third quarter, as Smith opened the scoring early in the period for the Moccasins, putting the team up by 10, 14-4. Wingate was able to stop the lengthy scoring streak with a tally from Paige Kamer, but the Mocs' Griffin pushed the lead back to ten with her second goal of the game.
 
The teams ended the third with Florida Southern leading 15-5.

The Moccasins continued to dictate the game throughout the final quarter, with Griffin notching a hat trick to keep the momentum with the SSC champions. Junior Elise Alders went on to score her fifth goal of the year, pushing the lead to 12 late in the game.
 
After another goal from the Bulldogs, Florida Southern's Marlee Moon Gaddy scored twice to put the exclamation point on a dominant victory for the Moccasins.
 
Florida Southern advances to the South Region Championship, which will be held this Sunday, at the Queens Sports Complex. They'll be taking on the host team, Queens University of Charlotte, after the Royals beat Tampa, 16-13, prior to the Moccasins victory on Friday.
 
Queens has been ranked No. 1 in the country for the majority of the year and is the first seed in the region, in part due to their victory earlier this season over Florida Southern.
 
The Royals defeated the Moccasins, in Lakeland, on Feb. 27 by a final score of 12-9, and are currently undefeated on the year, brandishing a record of 20-0. This Sunday's meeting will be the eleventh installment of the rivalry between the two Division II powerhouses, with Florida Southern holding an all-time record of 8-2. Queens has won the last two contests, both of which were held in Lakeland.
 
Florida Southern won the national championship in 2016, while Queens is still seeking their first championship in school history after falling in the NCAA Championship game last year, to Lindenwood.
 
Fans can tune into Sunday's game through the Queens Sports Network, with the first draw control expected at 12 p.m.
 
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