Women’s Lacrosse outlasted by Gannon in home debut

SALISBURY, N.C. – A halftime lead faded away as the Catawba College women's lacrosse team surrendered eight second-half goals in a setback to Gannon, 12-8, at Shuford Stadium on Thursday evening.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba (2-3) held an 11-3 edge in shots after one quarter, but Gannon (1-2) finished ahead in the category at 26-22

- Turnovers hampered the Golden Knights throughout the contest as Gannon committed 31 miscues compared to the Catawba Indians' 23

- The visitors dominated the draw circle, doubling up the blue and white with a 16-8 margin in draw controls

- Both squads struggled on the clear as Catawba went 11-for-20 (.550) while Gannon posted a 7-for-17 (.412) mark

- The Golden Knights were carded more often (5-3), leading to Catawba's 4-1 advantage in man-up goals

- Elli Ferraro and Ava Kunza shared time between the pipes with 30 minutes and three saves apiece, while Riley Finnegan earned the win for Gannon with nine stops on 17 shots faced

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Ella McCusker found the back of the net on two occasions as the only multi-time Catawba scorer

- Abby Shuren and Grace Virginia Deal had diverse two-point days with one goal and one assist apiece

- Leading the way in ground balls were Allison Filosa and Audrey Adelsberger at three pickups each; five different Catawba Indians logged two ground balls

- Meredith Marchetti racked up a career-high four caused turnovers, followed by Adelsberger's three takeaways

- Adelsberger also controlled two draws, splitting the squad's top spot with Skylar Mullin

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter

- A yellow card against the Golden Knights came with a free position opportunity for the Catawba Indians – Deal buried the shot to draw first blood

- It took just 21 seconds for Catawba to extend the lead to 2-0 when McCusker struck, but Gannon provided a quick response with a Charlie Hunter dart one possession later

- Two miscues by the visitors resulted in two on-goal shots for Catawba, the second finding twine from the stick of Helena Cronemiller

- Capitalizing on a one-minute man advantage, Mary Sorvillo fired in a free position goal to close the opening period with a three-score Catawba lead

Second Quarter

- The ledger remained 4-1 for over half of the second stanza as the sides combined for 10 turnovers; the silence was broken by another man-up goal, this time from McCusker with an assist tabbed to Shuren

- Gannon won the ensuing draw and saw Ella Todd assist Avrey Kirisits on the Golden Knights' second strike

- Kirisits found paydirt again a minute later, then Todd distributed a helper to Caroline Stevens following the visitors' fourth consecutive draw victory; Catawba opted for a timeout to regroup

- Six miscues between the squads included takeaways by Marchetti and Emma-Cait Cogan, keeping the score at 5-4 favoring the Catawba Indians

Third Quarter

- Kunza stopped the first shot on goal she faced, but Rayla Smith put the second into the back of the net to level proceedings

- The Golden Knights killed off a green card and got Todd to connect with Kirisits again, pushing Gannon into the driver's seat at 6-5

- Whistled for another yellow, the visitors gave up a free position to Kylie Harris who sent in the tying blast

- Unfazed, Gannon piled on three goals from three different players in the last three minutes to retake the lead with a 9-6 cushion

Fourth Quarter

- Todd and Kirisits supplied free position darts split by an unassisted blast from Stevens to extend the Golden Knight run to 11-1

- Catawba denied a late man-up chance and, once back at even strength, ended the cold streak with a Shuren blast

- Emily Better drew a free position opportunity minutes later and converted, giving Catawba 2:02 to recover from a four-goal deficit

- Gannon played keep-away but Sorvillo swiped the ball away, then failed to clear it as the visitors left Shuford Stadium with their first win of 2025

UP NEXT

The Catawba Indians welcome Emory & Henry to Salisbury on Saturday, Mar. 8 at noon. The program will also hold Senior Day festivities prior to the opening draw.