Mars Hill drops ninth straight, falls to UVa-Wise

WISE, Va. - The Mars Hill (2-12) women's lacrosse team fell to UVa-Wise (9-4), 17-6, on Tuesday afternoon in non-conference play.

After the first 5:12 of the game, the teams were tied at two. Ashley Wells scored the go-ahead goal that became the catalyst for a nine-goal run by the Cavaliers. Over the next 15:13, UVa-Wise ballooned their lead to 11-2 with under 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Rachel Cole scored three goals in the stretch while Kristin Gobbi had two. Molly Tobias ended the run with 9:13 remaining in the half, but just over two minutes later, Gobbi netted her third of the half. Wells notched her second goal with 4:08 remaining to give the Cavaliers a 10-goal advantage heading into halftime.

The Lions struck three times in the second half, including two goals from Olivia Hokanson. Rebecca Dallman scored the final Lions' goal with 1:30 left in the contest. Jesse French scored twice for the Cavaliers. Jessica Apgar and Riley Fenster both scored on free positions to help UVa-Wise come away with the 17-6 victory.

French (3g, 2a) led all players with five points. Cole ended the game with four goals. Hokanson led the Lions with her three goals on the afternoon. Tobias and Kiersten Foust each had one goal and two assists, while Gabby Gianikos chipped in two helpers.

Melanie Reilly and Elsa Girardo split goaltending duties, each playing 30 minutes. Reilly made six saves. Alexandria Holleran made seven saves in the losing effort.

The Lions concluded their inaugural season with a South Atlantic Conference contest versus Newberry on Saturday, April 21. The road game is set for a 7 p.m. start.