Greenville, S.C. – Claire Bockstie had a game high four points on Wednesday evening to lead the 21
st-ranked Clemson Tigers to an 11-5 victory over the Furman women's lacrosse team in the Paladins' season opener from Paladin Stadium.
Furman drops to 0-1 on the season. With the win, Clemson improves to 2-0 overall.
Preseason All-Big South selection
Anna Roser paced the Paladin offense with two goals, while
Reynolds Hester,
Paige Harman, and
Sophia Buzelis all added one goal.
Sophie Shaw and
Casey Richbourg both dished out one assist and Shaw led the team with four draws.
Katelyn Sousa, the Big South preseason defensive player of the year, picked up four ground balls. Four different players caused two turnovers each.
In goal,
Lily Rathbun registered five saves and tied Sousa with four ground balls.
Bockstie was one of four Tigers that scored twice and led the team with two assists. Kayla Macleod contributed three points on two goals and an assist. Clemson goalie Emily Lamparter totaled eight saves and two ground balls.
The Tigers scored the game's first six goals stretching into the second quarter, taking a 6-0 lead with 7:23 to go before halftime on Blair Byrne's goal. Roser's first goal of the contest got Furman on the board just before intermission and trailed 6-1 heading into the break.
The teams exchanged the next four goals with the Paladins scoring the last two from Hester and Buzelis to put the score at 8-3. Buzelis cut Furman's deficit to five less than three minutes into the fourth quarter. Clemson broke the game open with the next three goals to extend its lead to 11-3 at the 9:13 mark.
The Paladins closed out the contest holding the Tigers scoreless for the final nine minutes while picking up goals from Harman and Roser. Roser's second, and final, goal of the game made the final score 11-5 with 4:15 remaining in regulation.
Furman held a 19-17 advantage over Clemson in ground balls while forcing 21 turnovers and attempting 18 shots. The Paladins have forced opponents into double digit turnovers in nine straight games dating back to last season.
Furman remains at Paladin Stadium on Sunday, February 18 to host Kennesaw State at 11 a.m. Fans can follow the action on www.furmanpaladins.com via live stats. The game is being streamed via paid subscription on ESPN+. Updates will be posted on the Furman women's lacrosse Twitter page (@FUWlax).
