WISE – The Cavalier women's lacrosse team (1-1, 0-0 SAC) took down Converse (0-1, 0-0 Conference Carolinas) in the home opener of the 2024 season Friday night.
UVA Wise came out of the gates on fire, scoring the game's first four goals to lead 4-0 at the 4:24 mark in the opening quarter.
Junior midfielder Grace Golatt scored a goal of her own and assisted on a goal from sophomore Logen Davis in the 4-0 run.
Converse, namely freshman midfielder Izzy Ebby, responded by scoring two quick goals in less than 60 seconds. Both goals came from Ebby as she would finish the night with three scores in total.
Davis scored her second goal of the game with just 2:12 remaining in the first quarter, but Converse quickly answered with a pair of goals just before the break in the quarter to trail 5-4 after 15 minutes.
The Cavs dominated the second quarter of play, outsourcing Converse 10-1 to lead 15-5 at halftime.
Clay went back-to-back near the end of the second-quarter to give her a hat trick on the night.
Four different Cavaliers recorded two goals in the second quarter.
Freshman Noley Hiller and junior Abby Stoffelen each had two second quarter goals, while freshman Kaylea Patterson netted a pair in the quarter and three goals on the day.
Patterson also added two helpers to give her a total of five points on the night. The freshman has four goals in just two games early in her Cavalier career.
Hiller's two goals helped her reach her first career hat trick and she added an assist for a total of four points.
In the second half, the offense cooled off for both teams.
Hiller recorded her third goal to make it 17-8 at the 1:47 mark in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, two Cavalier goals would seal the win.
Clay scored her fourth of the night to lead all players in scoring. She had two assists as well, finishing with six points in total which was also a game high.
Senior midfielder Mallory Trimble rifled in her second goal of the game with 13:15 left in the final quarter to seal the game at its final score, 19-9.
The Cavalier freshmen dominated the stat sheet in the first home opening game of their career.
In total, the freshmen trio of Clay, Patterson and Hiller tallied 10 goals, 6 assists and 15 points. The three first year players crowded the leaderboard as the game's top three players in both goals and points.
UVA Wise now gets ready for its first conference action of the season as the Cavs welcome Anderson to town. First draw is set for Thursday, Feb. 15 at 4 p.m. from Beaty Richmond Field at Carl Smith Stadium.
