MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The University of Charleston Lacrosse program (1-0, 0-0 MEC) defeated the Hawks of Chowan University (0-3, 0-0 Conf. Carolinas) by a score of 12-6 on Saturday afternoon at the Soccer & Lacrosse Complex on the campus of Chowan University.
 
JUST THE BASICS
SCORE: Charleston 12, Chowan 6
LOCATION: Murfreesboro, N.C.
TEAM RECORDS: Golden Eagles (1-0, 0-0 MEC), Hawks (0-3, 0-0 Conf. Carolinas)
 
The game started off slow through the first 15 minutes of play with the score knotted at 1-1 before back-and-forth goals put Charleston ahead 4-3 with 9:03 remaining in the opening half. Four unanswered goals from the Golden Eagles had the visitors ahead 6-3 at the break. Elishia Davis, who comes to UC after scoring 38 goals for Shepherd University from 2017-19, notched three first half goals for Charleston while Rachel Kerwin added a pair of her own. Kyra Tye made five saves in the net for the Golden Eagles in the first half.
 
The Golden Eagles widened their lead to 9-4 just seven minutes into the second half behind two goals from Emma Renda (100th of her career) and another from Kerwin. Two unanswered goals from Leia Cabradillia and Jordan Nicholson of Chowan brought the score to 9-6 with just over 17:00 remaining in the game before Renda added her third goal of the contest with 17:22 remaining to put UC ahead 10-6. Two more goals from the Golden Eagles doubled their lead at 12-6 as Destiny Jackson and Renee Gering (man down) both joined the scoring efforts with six minutes to play in regulation.
 
The game ended with Charleston picking up their first win of the season under first-year Head Coach Akasha Kasper by a score of 12-6. Goalkeeper Kyra Tye finished the game in net recording seven saves to finish the afternoon with a 53.8 save percentage.
 
"We are proud of the overall team effort today on both sides of the ball. Our offense executed our plays and we saw points from multiple athletes" said Kasper following the win.  "Our defense made some great in game adjustments that allowed for greater success in the second half. Overall the team worked tirelessly to improve on every possession and we are excited to build off of today's success."
 
STATISTIC LEADERS:
Goals: Kerwin, Davis, & Renda (3)
Assists: Gering & Pisani (2)
Points: Gering & Renda (4)
Ground Balls: Jackson (7)
Caused Turnovers: Jackson (6)
 
UP NEXT:
The Golden Eagles will have off until next Friday (2/21) when they take on UVA-Wise at 6:30 p.m. in their home opener, marking the first lacrosse game played at their new home, the Welch Athletic Complex.