GREENWOOD, S.C. – Looking to close the spring break trip on the right foot, No. 3 Florida Southern women's lacrosse had a tall order Saturday morning against Lander at the Van Taylor Stadium in Greenwood, S.C. The Moccasins rallied in the second half to upend the Bearcats 12-11 to snap Lander's six-game win streak.
Florida Southern's
Rylie Rittberg came up with five big stops in goal to earn her sixth win of the season behind a Moccasin defense that turned over the Bearcats 10 times.
After a slow start to the game for the offense, the Moccasins started settling in the battle and saw four players score 12 goals in the win.
Abby McFerren, the game's leader in points (7), and
Jenna Vetter led the way with a game-high four goals apiece while
Giana Murphy was second in total points (6) with three goals and three assists. McFerren tacked on three assists in her seven-point performance Saturday morning.
Kolby Cohen tallied the only other goal for Florida Southern which came in the first half.
Florida Southern won 23 of 28 draw controls in the game, where four players for the Mocs helped dominate the Bearcats.
Maria Reeves led the contingent with seven ahead of McFerren's six and Cohen and
Audrey Cannelli's five apiece.
Ava Hawk registered two of the team's seven caused turnovers as Murphy led the team in groundballs with three.
Lander (6-2), who received votes in the US Lacrosse National Poll, went 7-for-8 in free position shots in the performance. Brooke Kelly and Izzy Olson paced the team with four points. Kelly had four goals, while Olson had three goals and one assist in the loss. Kara Krusbe's standout performance between the pipes kept the Bearcats in the contest, as she made 13 saves on 25 shots on goal from the Moccasins.
The Bearcats were looking to upset the third-ranked Mocs and rushed out to a large lead. After going up 2-0 in the first, before a
Giana Murphy goal for Florida Southern, Lander added four straight unanswered goals in the second for a commanding 6-1 lead. Murphy would score a free position goal to start a Moc rally that closed the half with goals from
Kolby Cohen and
Jenna Vetter, 6-3 LU.
Looking to challenge from behind, Florida Southern started the second half with a pair of
Abby McFerren goals to tie the game at six. Izzy Olson sandwiched a Vetter goal to keep the Bearcats in front 8-7 as the quarter ended.
In a fourth quarter that showcased eight total goals, the Moccasins narrowly defeated the Bearcats 5-3 to secure a road win. McFerren opened the period by tying it at 8-8, before Murphy propelled Florida Southern ahead 9-8 with 9:48 left on the clock. Lander responded two minutes later, once again leveling the score at 9-9.
A pair of Vetter goals and McFerren's fourth saw the Mocs pull ahead 12-9 with 3:39 to play in the final quarter of regulation. Lander scored with 1:14 to play to make it close within two, 12-10, but another goal with just 29 seconds to go brought the contest to a one-goal game, 12-11.
Maria Reeves won what would be the game's final draw control as the Mocs called time to settle the ball down with 23 seconds left. Florida Southern would run the clock out and hold out hope from Lander to complete the upset.
No. 3 Florida Southern will head home and look to host No. 7 Indianapolis (UIndy) on Tuesday, March 11 at 7 p.m. at Berend Field and the Barnett Athletic Complex.
