March 8,2015

Spartanburg, SC – A second half rally wasn't enough as the Emmanuel College women's lacrosse team lost 13-6 to Conference Carolinas opponent Converse College. The Lady Lions are now 2-6 overall and 1-5 in conference play as the Lady Valkyries found their first conference win of the season.

Emmanuel was faced with adversity as new goalie Alley Howell (Watkinsville, GA) was forced to the bench due to an illness and for the second time this season, senior defender Destinee Johnson (Stockbridge, GA) filled in to ultimately block 5 out of 18 shots on goal. Offensively, the Lions stayed quiet against a tough defense through the first half, finally getting a shot to fall 16 minutes into the game with a feed by sophomore Tyler Rediger (Hoschton, GA) to junior Savannah Gratz (Ball Ground, GA). Converse fired back with 2 unanswered goals but EC junior Megan Hart (Acworth, GA) contributed to the Lions offense with a goal assisted by Gratz with 07:32 left in the half. Neither team would score through the remainder of the half, rounding out with the Valkyries leading 10-2 at halftime.

The second half got started with two quick goals by Converse, but the Lions stepped up to the challenge as junior Haley Larson (Loxahatchee, FL) was able to take advantage of a free position shot, scoring with 12:52 left in the game. Two minutes later, Gratz followed up with a strong left-handed take to goal. Only 01:12 passed when Gratz came back with an assist to H. Larson at the next possession. H. Larson ended the game with a solid feed around the crease to Rediger to get the final shot of the game.

The defense held the Valkyries scoreless for an entire 14 minutes and limited them to only 3 goals in the second half. Junior defender Katie McCall (Elberton, GA) had a standout performance with 4 caused turnovers and 2 ground balls. Despite the Lions' efforts and a winning second half, the Valkyries walked away with their first conference win, becoming 3-3 overall.

The Lady Lions have some time off before their next game on March 18 when they will travel to Columbia, SC to face the Columbia College Fighting Koalas at 6:30 PM.