Raleigh, N.C - The Southern Virginia women's lacrosse team traveled south to North Carolina for a date with the USA South's defending champions, Meredith College. While it was a much anticipated matchup after last year's thrilling title game, it wasn't the afternoon the Knights had hoped for as they were ultimately defeated by the Avenging Angels, 18-7.
Southern Virginia came into the matchup looking to move up a couple of spots in the conference standings, while Meredith looked to keep their undefeated conference record intact. Meredith would have the early jump in the first quarter and scored the first goal just over a minute into the contest. Their aggressive attack made clears difficult for the Knights and shots were hard to come by. The Knight's eventually fell into a 6-0 hole before Kiah Baisden gave her team a much needed lift with two goals in the final three minutes.
Southern Virginia dominated in draw controls for a second consecutive game, holding the Meredith attack at bay through much of the second quarter. Ellie Patterson had a standout day defensively, causing three turnovers, picking up two ground balls, and would pick up an assist in the process. McKayla Martin found twine when the Avenging Angels found themselves a player down, it was her 5th of the season and kept the Knights within reach. However, the first half would have a similar end to how the game started as Meredith scored three more goals to take an 11-3 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, Kiah Baisden was a one-woman wrecking crew. She put up four more tallies to finish with six goals on the day, bringing her season total to 28 goals. Still, shots were difficult to come by the rest of the way as those would be the only goals scored for Southern Virginia in the half. Knights goalkeeper Madison Sorenson made 8 saves but it wasn't enough to hold off Meredith's vaunted attack. Meredith would win the fourth quarter and eventually win the day, turning the page on their big defeat to Christopher Newport last week.
By game's end, Southern Virginia controlled 21 draws to Meredith's 8, while the latter dominated in shots with a 41-19 advantage over the Knights. Along with Ellie Patterson, Reagan Bullock led the team with three caused turnovers, she also managed to control three draws in the loss.
Southern Virginia will have a quick turnaround and look to get back in the win column against Greensboro College. That matchup is scheduled for Tuesday, April 2nd, at 5:00 PM in Buena Vista.
For the most up-to-date details and information on the team, follow @knightwlax on instagram or visit knightathletics.com for streaming options and live stats.
