ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - No. 2 Florida Southern women's lacrosse opened the 2024 season with a 23-16 rout of No. 9 Flagler Wednesday evening at the Flagler Lacrosse Field.
Graduate student Jackie Stoller paced all scorers with seven goals, adding two assists for a game-high nine points. Madison Tare was second on the team with five goals, just ahead of Abby McFerren with four. Five other players for the Moccasins found the back of the net with Ellie Griffin and Danielle Mojsej each scoring two. Olivia Gianakos, Maria Reeves, and Emma Dudley each scored one goal in the win.
Lexie Morton led No. 9 Flagler (2-1) with six points on five goals and one assist before sitting out the entire fourth quarter. Ella Pinder (4), Carley Tepel (2), Jessica Wright (2), Katelyn Trainor (1), Carly LaFerriere (1), and Sydney Onega (1) all scored for the Saints.
Rylie Rittberg started in the net before swapping out with McKenzie Gaghan in the first quarter. Gaghan earned the win after playing 52 minutes while tallying four saves in the cage for the Moccasins.
Flagler opened with a strong four-goal lead before Florida Southern began to turn the tides, unwilling to yield the first game of the season. The Mocassins began to even the playing field in a hard-fought first half that saw Florida Southern take the lead toward the end of the 2nd quarter.
The Saints took the lead in the first quarter, starting out strong with four goals over the visiting Mocs before senior Abby McFerren scored the Mocs' first goal of the game. The hard-fought first quarter ended with 5-7 on the board with Flagler holding a two-point lead over Florida Southern.
The second frame opened with Flagler scoring another goal, only for McFerren to make her second goal of the game and begin a six-goal streak for Florida Southern, dominating the second quarter of the game. In the run, Madison Tare, Jackie Stoller (2), Emma Dudley, and Danielle Mojsej all scored to give the Moccasins the 11-9 advantage at the half.
The Mocs and the Saints trade goals throughout the third frame, both trying to gain an edge.
The score was 16-15 going into the final quarter, with the Mocs holding a one-goal lead over the Saints. Florida Southern opened with an explosive man-up offensive, scoring three goals in under two minutes. The Mocs would finish with an impressive seven goals in the final stanza, with the Saints only managing to score once in the final 15 minutes of the game. Florida Southern took home its first win of the season with a decisive final score of 23-16 over Flagler.
The No. 2 Moccasins will travel to Huntsville, Ala. to compete in a pair of games. Their next game is Friday, Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. (ET) as the Mocs face off against No. 12 University of Indianapolis in a neutral site before a game against the Chargers of the University of Alabama in Huntsville on Feb. 18 at 12 p.m. (ET)
