WISE – The UVA Wise women's lacrosse team closed out the regular season in style as they used a third quarter run to claim the 13-7 win over Tusculum University Wednesday afternoon.

The Highland Cavaliers have earned a fifth-seed in the upcoming South Atlantic Conference tournament, which begins this Saturday. The team, playing in their 10^th season, are making their eighth appearance in the postseason. (There was no SAC Tournament in 2020 because Covid-19 halted play.)

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Score: UVA Wise 13, Tusculum 7
Records: UVA Wise (9-7, 6-4 SAC), Tusculum (5-11, 3-7 SAC)
Location: Wise, Va. | Beaty-Richmond Field at Carl Smith Stadium
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- It was a low scoring first quarter, with only three goals scored. Tusculum's Lucy Brewer scored first only 42 seconds into the game. Noley Hiller would score two of her four goals to close out the quarter and give UVA Wise the 2-1 lead. 
- Two goals by the Pioneers sandwiched a goal by Mallory Trimble and tied the game at 3-3 with 9:06 left in the first half.
- UVA Wise then rolled off three goals as Hiller scored again and SAC Offensive Player of the Week Abby Stoffelen scored twice. The Pioneers would score one more time in the quarter to cut the UVA Wise lead to 6-4 at the half.
- The Cavs outscored Tusculum 7-3 in the second half. TU had a pair of goals at the 14:37 and 13:26 marks in the third quarter and would not score again until the 2:30 mark in the period. During that stretch, goals by Leslie Clay, Caitlyn Schultz (twice) and Issie Brown extended the lead to 10-6.
- TU's Kylie Marek ended the run with a goal at the 2:30 mark, only for Trimble to score less than a minute later to keep the margin at four goals heading into the final quarter.
- Two goals by Hiller and Grace Golatt, stingy defense, and smart clock-killing by the Cavs held off any chances by the Pioneers for a late comeback and UVA Wise went on to the 13-7 win.

GETTING WISE:
- Hiller had four goals in a game for the fourth time this season. She currently is tied for the team lead in goals with 30 with Mallory Trimble.
- Stoffelen, Schultz and Trimble had two goals apiece. 
- Schultz led all players with three assists, while Logen Davis had two. Davis leads the team with 20 assists.
- Stoffelen led the team with four ground balls and five draw controls.
- Goalie Olivia Toomer had eight saves. TU's Emily White had and impressive 19 saves for the game.
- As a team, the Cavs outshot Tusculum 40-19 and they forced the Pioneers into 33 turnovers.
 
UP NEXT
UVA Wise will open the SAC Tournament this Saturday when they travel to face Newberry. First draw is set for 4 p.m. The winner of that game will face top-seeded Wingate in Wingate, North Carolina, next Wednesday.