Transitioning from one career-best performance by an underclassman to another of similar caliber and even greater significance considering the magnitude of Big South Conference play now at the forefront, the Presbyterian College lacrosse squad dominated the opening 30 minutes of Wednesday evening's league opener with Wofford, carrying them to a lead as high as six and a 12-8 victory when the dust settled.
Just four days after classmate and fellow attacker Willow Hammond accomplished a new personal best with four strikes in a single outing at Queens, sophomore NaQuia Hall cemented her own individual-high by reaching that same figure on a night where PC collectively garnered three scores in each period.
Sharing the wealth between seven different players to register at least one strike, Presbyterian's season-best goal count was bolstered by an equally superior 60 minutes at keeper by true freshman Lilly Phillips who gained arguably her largest personal W of her young tenure by thwarting 11 shot attempts that came flying her way.
Evening the all-time series between the Palmetto State rivals at three wins apiece, Wednesday's Clinton victory stands as the first Big South W at home since the 2012 campaign, while simultaneously denoting the first PC win in their league opener since the year prior.
NOTABLES
- The fifth time this semester that a Blue Hose member reeled off four goals in a single affair and third occasion adding an assist for good measure in said performance, Hall dismantled the Terriers seemingly from the beginning with a 4:19 opening-frame cash-in that wrestled the lead in PC's favor for the remaining 56 minutes.
- Kylie Sullivan and Ava Ward – a junior/senior tandem that has appeared in all nine of Presbyterian's matchups to this point – joined Hall in publishing a multi-goal effort at two each, the latter's first of the day with eight minutes gone inciting a streak of six unanswered goals by the home side, a flurry that Wofford never recovered from.
- That six-pack rupture earned PC a sizable edge at the first-half horn (6-2), a margin that flatlined over the ensuing 30 minutes with plenty of Blue Hose highlights mixed in. Hammond, Mickey Paredes, Madison Foti, and Abby Edmisten all joined the scoring deluge once the deficit was well and truly large, aiding head coach Eric Clakely's club to their third victory over the Terriers all within the past five seasons.
- Phillips' zestful showing in the circle improved her save count to 21 over the past two meetings and 58 through the entire calendar, most impressively denying seven shots in the 1st quarter alone while her offensive partners lit up the scoreboard.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Following a Wofford surprise with 59 seconds passed, coach Clakeley's defense would limit the visitors to just one more successful swing over the rest of the half (with said score coming after already tasting a five-goal deficit on a last-ditch effort with eight seconds left on the 2nd period clock).
- Meanwhile, the Blue Hose put together their longest uninterrupted scoring sequence of the 2023 stretch that lasted a grand total of 29 minutes, capped off by Foti's second strike of the year and Paredes' third that came seven minutes apart.
- Both sides battled to a stalemate over the 3rd and 4th stanzas, with Hall doubling her personal goal count over the entire season in one night – going from four to eight in the span of an hour and a half. After striking at the 9:59 and 3:26 clips coming out of intermission, Sullivan and Hammond ended the night mirroring each other with 13 goals each since February.
- Seeming that her eight-game scoring streak may come to a close in the waning moments of the W, Edmisten ensured it would live on with her 20th connection of the campaign, finding at least one strike in all nine outings on the year.
- Presbyterian's tendencies, that of high-octane offense translating to profitable results, kept up its progression in the lopsided win, continuing the theme of at least 10 scores in all four of their winning efforts.
COACH CLAKELEY'S THOUGHTS
"Obviously the offensive numbers look very pleasing to us tonight, although I can't speak highly enough about how efficient our defense and goalkeeping was in this win. We've placed a heavy emphasis on that end of the field as our schedule gets into its most important games, and our defenders responded to that challenge excellently by frustrating a talented Wofford team continuously".
"Tonight was Lilly's night, wholeheartedly. She was fantastic for all four quarters, which in turn gave the offense confidence as the game wore on. I'm also super happy for NaQuia, because our staff and players know exactly what she's capable of and this is just the beginning of her development as one of our premier attackers".
UP NEXT
- Achieving a momentous start to Big South action with a host of other pivotal games in the near future, the Blue Hose will hit the road this weekend for round two in league play against the Radford Highlanders. A 15-4 setback at the hands of PC's next opponent after them (Campbell) sent the Virginians to 3-6 overall as Presbyterian hopes for some payback after a 13-10 home loss to the Highlanders in 2022.
- Opening draw in Radford is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on the first day of April.
