WISE – Four short years ago, a lacrosse recruit named
Caitlyn Schultz arrived on the UVA Wise campus from Pittsburgh seeking not only a quality education but, like every student-athlete, also wanting to succeed in her sport and leave her mark on the program. She is delivering that in spades in her senior season as leads the team and South Atlantic Conference in scoring and ranks highly in several other categories. In Wednesday's win 14-9 win over Tusculum Schultz, playing in the penultimate regular season home game of her career, reached a height no one else in the program's storied history has achieved as she scored her 58th goal of the season, setting a new school record.
The old record was 56 set by McKayla Grasham in 2019 as she helped lead the team to the Mountain East Conference championship that season. Behind Schultz' 58 goals and 11 assists (which combine for 69 total points – 10 shy of the school's single-season record in that category), this year's team is on the verge of hosting a South Atlantic Conference Tournament game for the third time in the past five seasons.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Result: UVA Wise 14, Tusculum 9
Records: UVA Wise (13-3, 7-2 SAC); Tusculum (8-7, 4-4 SAC)
Location: Wise, VA | Carl Smith Stadium
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Cavaliers capitalized on their player-up opportunities, scoring four player-up goals to outpace the Pioneers.
- The game commenced with the Highland Cavaliers taking an early advantage.
Caitlyn Schultz opened the scoring for UVA Wise at 12:18, assisted by
Logen Davis.
Chloe Huston extended the lead with a goal at 08:51. The Pioneers responded with a player-up goal from Elisha Stack at 06:02. However, the Cavs maintained momentum, with Schultz securing another goal at 03:56, followed by Davis scoring at 02:20.
Noley Hiller capped the quarter with a goal at 00:01, assisted by
Samantha Sobolewski, bringing the quarter to a close with the Cavaliers leading 5–1.
- The Cavs extended their lead in the second quarter, beginning with Hiller scoring at 14:26, assisted by
Taylor Thompson. Despite a brief response from Tusculum's Liberty Jones on a free position shot at 13:19, UVA Wise maintained momentum. Schultz added a player-down goal at 9:08, with assistance from Hiller, and Huston capitalized on a free position opportunity at 5:21. Davis further widened the gap with a player-up goal at 4:03. Tusculum attempted to keep pace with goals from Laura Nance Pickens and Sophia Didzbalis, but the half ended with the Cavs holding a 9–4 advantage.
- The Cavaliers capitalized on a player-up advantage early in the third quarter, with Hiller scoring at 10:31, assisted by Schultz. Schultz then extended the lead with a goal at 9:58, assisted by
Issie Brown. Tusculum responded with a goal from Kayla Nuccio at 4:27 on a free position shot. Schultz netted her record-breaking 57th goal of the season for the Highland Cavaliers at 1:20, assisted by Sobolewski, but Tusculum's Jessie Carolin-Vande scored with 57 seconds left, closing the quarter with a score of 12–6 in favor of UVA Wise.
- The Cavs secured a 14–9 victory in a game that featured significant defensive plays and timely scoring. Schultz scored #58 while on a player-up, with an assist from Hiller at 8:20, and
Mia Potter added another goal assisted by Davis at 7:23, extending the lead. The Pioneers responded with goals from Nuccio and Pickens, but the Cavaliers maintained control. Goalkeeper
Addie Donalson was pivotal, recording multiple crucial saves against free position shots throughout the quarter.
GETTING WISE
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Caitlyn Schultz led the team with six goals, a career-high for her and the third time this season she has achieved that feat. She currently leads the SAC in goals and is second in points and shots. She also ranks twelfth nationally in goals and fourteenth in goals per game (3.71).
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Noley Hiller added in three goals and two assists.
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Logen Davis had two goals and two assists, while
Chloe Huston also scored two goals
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Addie Donalson had eight saves for the day.
- The teams were actually pretty well-matched statistically, as UVA Wise held a 25-22 advantage in shots and an 8-6 margin in saves. The Cavs did have 23 ground balls to 13 by the Pioneers and won 14 draws to 11 by Tusculum.
UP NEXT
The team will have a week off before closing out the regular season when they host 25th ranked Anderson next Wednesday at 3 p.m.
