TWU, Georgetown Advance in Women's Lacrosse Tournament

WALESKA, Ga. - Tennessee Wesleyan and Georgetown moved on in the first round of the Appalachian Athletic Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament on Thursday at Ken White Field, with the No. 3 seed Bulldogs defeating No. 6 seed Columbia 28-2 in the opener and the No. 4 seed Tigers following with a 23-6 win over No. 5 seed Montreat.

The tournament is being hosted by Reinhardt in Waleska, and both games turned quickly. In the 11 a.m. match, Tennessee Wesleyan scored in every quarter and built separation early. Jozlyn Long opened the scoring at 13:58 of the first quarter off an assist from Kylie Heinrich, and the Bulldogs were in front 5-1 when Columbia got its first goal on Meg Gill's free-position shot with 6:25 left in the quarter. Tennessee Wesleyan led 8-1 after the first quarter, then kept pressing in the second. Elizabeth Pluta scored on a free-position attempt at 14:04 of the second quarter for a 9-1 lead, and Heinrich added a man-down free-position goal at 9:28 as the margin continued to grow.

Tennessee Wesleyan carried a 14-1 lead into halftime and stayed in control after the break. Aava Downey scored 36 seconds into the third quarter to make it 15-1. Columbia's other goal came on a man-up finish by Taylor Gipson with 5:54 left in the third, trimming the deficit to 18-2. The Bulldogs answered throughout the fourth quarter, including Long's man-up free-position goal at 13:19 that pushed the score to 21-2. Kate Buchanan's goal with 36 seconds remaining capped the 28-2 final. Long finished with seven goals and two assists, Olivia Downey had four goals and four assists, Pluta scored four times, and Heinrich added two goals and five assists. Tennessee Wesleyan outshot Columbia 40-8, held a 17-13 edge in draw controls, and committed just eight turnovers while limiting Columbia to seven shots on goal.

The afternoon game followed a similar script, although Montreat briefly matched Georgetown at the start. Hailey Voss scored 65 seconds in to put Georgetown ahead, and Montreat answered on Grace Wiegand's free-position goal at 13:01 of the first quarter to tie it 1-1. Georgetown then built its cushion with a sustained run, including Lyric Sidney's goal at 7:26 off a Madison Diaz assist. The Tigers finished the first quarter ahead 7-2 and stretched the lead to 11-4 by halftime after Diaz scored early in the second quarter to keep Georgetown in control.

Georgetown pulled away for good in the third quarter. Lindsey Maynard scored at 12:12, again with Diaz assisting, to start a six-goal quarter that widened the margin to 17-5 by the 4:02 mark when Sidney scored again. Montreat got fourth-quarter production from Marley Smith, who converted a free-position attempt at 13:43 for the team's final goal. Diaz then scored with 29 seconds left to close out the 23-6 result. Voss led Georgetown with eight goals and one assist, while Diaz finished with six goals and four assists. For Montreat, Wiegand had three goals and one assist, and Smith added two goals and one assist. Georgetown controlled much of the possession game, outshooting Montreat 42-16, winning draw controls 21-8, and forcing 16 turnovers.

Georgetown will now face No. 1 Cumberlands at 11 am, while Tennessee Wesleyan will face No. 2 Reinhardt at 3 pm.