GREENSBORO, N.C. — Averett University women's lacrosse broke back into the win column with a 12-9 conference victory over Guilford College.
Averett (2-10, 2-6 ODAC) snapped an eight game skid with an Old Dominion Athletic Conference conquest over Guilford (5-8, 2-5 ODAC). The Cougars were led by youth and experience in the win, as junior
Faith Bowlin paired with freshman
Gracie Kean to score eight of Averett's 12 goals.
The game's opening tally put the Cougars ahead, as freshman
Cayden Holdsworth scored her seventh goal of the season. Guilford fired back, scoring two unanswered goals to end the first quarter, before the tide turned Averett's way.
The Cougars found the form they have been chasing all season long in the second quarter. Freshman
Kait Cashman kicked things off with a goal less than a minute into the quarter, and the flood gates opened from that moment. Bowlin, as she so often does, led the Cougars' charge. The junior, and team's leading goal-scorer, fired in three consecutive goals in just over two minutes of game action. Kean followed suit, as the freshman added two goals of her oen, to break the once tied game into a 7-2 Averett advantage. Guilford responded before the quarter closed, but the Cougars carried a 7-4 lead into halftime.
Averett maintained its excellent offensive outburst. Holdsworth added another goal to the tally, and Kean added her third of the game. Senior
Irenia Torre joined the party with her sixth goal of the campaign. The Quakers kept pace, with three goals of their own in the third frame, and the game was still up for grabs heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
The sides traded goals in the fourth quarter, with Guilford coming within two goals of tying the game. The stars of the day for the Cougars helped ice the game and secure the road victory for Averett. Both Bowlin and Kean took turns responding to Guilford's comeback attempts. Each of the Cougars' fourth quarter goals closely followed the Guilford scores, as Averett made sure not too let the game slip away with rapid, momentum-killing, responses. Senior goalkeeper
Kaylee Joblon added 15 saves to her program record number, as the Cougars celebrated at the sound of the final whistle, with the score in their favor, 12-9.
Averett will look to ride its newfound momentum into another ODAC road test, as the Cougars visit Eastern Mennonite University on Saturday, April 20, at 2 p.m.
