SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Lily Toole broke Furman's single-game points record Wednesday evening to lead the Paladins to a 20-18 victory over the Wofford Terriers in Big South Conference women's lacrosse action at Gibbs Stadium.
Furman improves to 8-2 overall and remains unbeaten in the Big South at 2-0. With the loss, Wofford drops to 3-8 on the season and 0-2 in conference play.
Toole, a freshman from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., surpassed Meagan Beal's old school record of 11, which was achieved at Wofford on April 26, 2023. Toole led the Paladins with career highs of eight goals and four assists while adding one ground ball. Her eight goals fell one shy of matching
Anna Roser's single-game record of nine set last season. Roser provided a season best eight points after totaling five goals and three assists.
Lilly Pons recorded her first career hat trick and
Allie Kandel scored a career high two goals. Four different players picked up two ground balls while four others had one caused turnover each.
Goalie
Sailor Henderson earned the win after finishing with seven saves while leading the team with five ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Olivia Graebner led the Terriers offensively with six goals and Bria Foley added six points on five goals and one assist. In goal, Ella Smithers and Hannah Taylor combined for six saves.
Foley twice gave Wofford a two-goal lead in the second quarter with the last coming at 8-6 with 8:07 remaining. Foley would put the Terriers ahead 9-8 four minutes later before Furman scored three of the last four from Toole, Kandel, and Roser to hold an 11-10 lead at halftime. The Paladins outscored Wofford, 7-5, in the second quarter.
The Terriers trailed by a goal early in the second half until three consecutive goals by Furman pushed its lead out to 16-12 at the 5:48 mark of the third quarter when
Paige Harman scored off Roser's assist. Emma Stalteri cut the Paladins' advantage to 16-14 with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter, but Furman answered with four of the following five goals to tie its largest lead of the contest at 20-15. Toole's eighth, and final, goal put the Paladins in front by five with 9:06 left in the game.
Furman held a 23-19 advantage in draws while concluding the contest with 18 ground balls and forcing Wofford into 15 turnovers.
The Paladins remain on the road Friday traveling to High Point for a 7:30 p.m. opening draw against the Panthers at Vert Stadium. 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).
