Charleston, W. Va – In front of a Senior Day crowd in the Capital City of West Virginia, the Golden Eagles would face the Davis & Elkins Senators for their first Mountain East Conference matchup of the season. The Senators were off to a tremendous start, coming into this contest with just one loss on the year to the Notre Dame Falcons. Charleston looked to begin conference play on the right foot at home. 
 
The Basics
Location: Welch Athletic Complex
Score: UC 14, D&E 9
Records: UC 5-5 (1-0 MEC), D&E 4-7 (0-2 MEC)
 
How It Happened
In the first minute of the game, the Golden Eagles started off quickly as Madison Partridge would find two back-to-back goals before the fans could find their seats, giving Charleston the early 2-0 advantage. Morgan Rogers of Davis & Elkins would get her squad on the board shortly after off the assist from Hannah Lennon to cut the lead to 2-1. After nearly a seven-minute drought, the Golden Eagles would extend their lead back to two as Ella Russano found an unassisted goal at the 4:35 mark of the first quarter for the 3-1 lead. Charleston held the Senators to very little offense in the quarter with just one shot compared to the home team's six. They would force nine turnovers from Davis & Elkins, giving Charleston a couple of extra opportunities on the attack. Despite being down by two, the Senators turned on the jets in the second quarter, firing off six shots and finding four goals to Charleston's three. Jessica Dwyer's goal at the 3:15 mark late in the second quarter sent the teams into the locker room with Charleston ahead 6-5. 
 
Following the halftime break, Davis & Elkins leveled the game at 6-6 after Dwyer found the back of the net once again three minutes into the third quarter. Goals would be exchanged by Madison Partridge and D&E's Zoie Donaldson shortly after keeping the game square at 7-7. The Senators found their first lead of the game when Ke'ya Stevens scored her first goal of the day off the assist of Dwyer for the 8-7 lead. The Golden Eagles scored two consecutive goals from Tess Yuhas and Nicolette Lospitalier, two seniors that were unsettled with the thought of playing from behind on their Senior Day. With Morgan Rogers tying the contest once again at 9-9 at the 2:05 mark of the third quarter, it would be all Charleston heading the rest of the way. 
 
The Golden Eagles took the 10-9 lead with CJ Cook's score off the assist of Gianni Blundell late in the third quarter. Heading into the fourth, Ryland Luciano's squad stretched their lead with two goals each from Lospitalier and Partridge, holding the Senators to four shots and no goals. Charleston would prevail at home with the 14-9 victory over Davis & Elkins, earning their first Mountain East Conference victory of the season. 
 
Up Next
Charleston will be on the road this Thursday for their second MEC battle as they take on the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats at Cebe Ross Field on April 4^th at 3:30 PM.