Greenville, S.C. – Meagan Beal and
Anna Roser combined for nine goals on Saturday afternoon as the Furman women's lacrosse team cruised past the Winthrop Eagles for a 21-4 victory in Big South action at Paladin Stadium.
Furman, winners of three of its past four games, improves to 6-5 overall and 3-1 in the Big South. With the loss, Winthrop drops to 3-8 on the season and 0-4 in conference play.
The Paladins got off to a strong start offensively, scoring eight of the first nine goals including six in a row to begin the game. Roser scored all four of her goals in the first half with the last giving Furman a 10-2 lead at the 9:38 mark of the second quarter. After the Eagles scored less than a minute later, the Paladins closed out the half on a 4-0 run and led 14-3 at intermission capped by Beal's fourth goal of the contest.
Furman continued its run into the second half with
Hannah Dintino posting back-to-back goals over the first five minutes to extend its lead to 16-3. The Paladins outscored Winthrop 7-1 in the second half with the Eagles' lone goal coming with 8:19 remaining in the third quarter. Six different Furman players scored in the second half, including the first of
Audrey Smith's career, to put the final score at 21-4.
The 21 goals scored by the Paladins represent a season high and is the first time they have scored 20 or more goals in a game since a 20-11 victory over Wofford last season at Paladin Stadium. Furman last surrendered five goals or fewer in a contest on May 6, 2021 when it defeated Wofford 21-4 in Macon, Ga.
Offensively, Beal paced the Paladins with six points on five goals and one assist while picking up three ground balls. Roser was one of four players that registered five points along with Dintino,
Paige Harman, and
Libby Bowen. Harman tied Beal for the team-lead with three ground balls. Defensively,
Katelyn Sousa forced a game high three turnovers. In goal,
Lily Rathbun totaled two saves, two ground balls, and two caused turnovers.
Ellie Dutton scored three of Winthrop's four goals on the afternoon while Molly Dankowski and Jenna Diebert both had two ground balls. Madison Mills contributed two caused turnovers. Goalie Emma Calhoun recorded six saves and one ground ball.
Furman limited the Eagles to just eight shots throughout the contest and held a 22-6 advantage in draws and 16-12 in ground balls. The Paladins also forced Winthrop into 19 turnovers.
Furman begins a three-game road trip on Wednesday, April 12 traveling to Radford, Va. for a 3 p.m. opening draw at Radford.