MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. - The No. 4 Florida Southern College women's lacrosse team downed No. 23 Mount Olive by a final score of 21-12 on Friday afternoon in their season opener.
On a windy day in Mount Olive, the Moccasins (1-0) rolled past the Trojans (0-2), using seven unanswered goals to take an early lead that they would not relinquish in their first game of the season.
The Mocs started preseason All-American
McKenzie Gaghan in net and she was strong in her Florida Southern debut, stopping five shots to keep the Moccasins in control.
Offensively, the team was led by senior
Jackie Stoller, who picked up seven points on four goals and three assists to propel the Mocs to a runaway win over another nationally-ranked team.
As a team, the Mocs had five different players record hat tricks in the contest.
Graduate student
Gina Verrone was exceptional in the draw circle, winning 12 draw controls to lead all players. As a team, Florida Southern won the draw control battle 20-16, while also scooping 18 ground balls to the Trojans' nine.
The Mocs started the game on a seven-goal scoring run, with the first tally coming in the opening minute from former Mount Olive Trojan, and first-year Moccasin
Sam Wehr.
Wehr, who scored ten goals in 13 games last season for the Trojans, got Florida Southern on the board after an early penalty gave her a free position shot, which she converted.
Olivia Manghisi scored her first of the year after the Mocs won the ensuing draw control, with her shot ricocheting off the crossbar before dropping in the net, putting the team up 2-0.
As part of the early onslaught,
Giana Murphy scored her first goal as a Moccasin to put the team up by three in the opening minutes. Murphy would go on to tack on two assists over the course of the day.
The Mocs would go on to get goals from
Hailey Daleo,
Ellie Griffin, and
Abby McFerren to bolster the early lead. Stoller also scored to pick up her first goal in a Florida Southern uniform.
The Trojans would put a halt to the strong offensive start with a pair of late first-quarter goals, but another goal from Daleo left the Mocs leading 8-2 at the end of the opening frame.
Florida Southern opened the second quarter with a pair of woman-up goals from Griffin and Murphy, respectively, to put the Moccasins up 10-2 before the Trojans initiated their comeback bid.
Mount Olive rifled in three unanswered goals over the middle portion of the second quarter, bringing the team back within five for the time being.
Stoller ended the Trojan scoring run, notching her second goal of the game with just over six minutes to play in the half. The teams traded goals to end the second quarter, as McFerren scored before Stoller completed the first-half hat trick to keep the Mocs ahead by six, 13-7 at the half.
The Moccasins took complete control over the game in the third quarter, as they scored six unanswered goals to go up by double-digits at the start of the period.
As part of the scoring run, Stoller picked up her fourth goal of the game before Griffin completed her hat trick. Daleo and Murphy each scored their third goals of the game as well while McFerren tacked on her third and fourth goals of the contest, putting the Moccasins up 19-7 with just over five minutes to play.
The Trojans were eventually able to find a goal, but it was quickly countered by the Moccasins' preseason All-American
Lizzy Lynch, who scored two quick goals to push the Mocs to a 21-8 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Florida Southern would coast to victory from that point onward, as sophomore
Rylie Rittberg came in to play the fourth quarter, making a save as the Mocs cruised to a 21-12 victory.
The fourth-ranked Moccasins will stay in North Carolina and turn their attention to another nationally-ranked opponent as they take on No. 13 Wingate University on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Florida Southern won both matchups against the Bulldogs last year, the most recent coming in the first round of the NCAA tournament, a 19-6 victory.
