SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College women's lacrosse team was unable to hold off the conference-leading Mercer Bears, 17-2, in their final regular season game in Gibbs Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Wofford (7-9, 5-2) was led by goals from
Carlie Cutinella and
Ella Bartlett. Both goals were unassisted. The Bears held the shot advantage, 37-13. Mercer picked up 24 ground balls, while Wofford grabbed 15, with
Brooke Meltcher grabbing eight for the third time this season. Wofford caused six turnovers to the Bears' 11, with Meltcher causing four. The Terriers received a season-high five yellow cards.
The Terriers accumulated three cards as they tried to settle into the game. This left room for the Bears to strike with Mercer finding the net first after five minutes of play with a free-position goal. They added to their lead with two more goals, with Wofford unable to find an answer in the first quarter, 3-0.
Within 30 seconds of play in the second quarter, Mercer converted a free-position shot. The Bears added two more goals before the Terriers could find their first goal of the day.
Carlie Cutinella was the one to break through with 9:58 left in the first half after
McKenzie Moeller found her just outside the crease. It did not take long for Mercer to respond, scoring 41 seconds later. The Bears found the net five more times to close out the half, 12-1.
The Terriers held off the Bears for the first four minutes of the second half before Mercer was able to score. Mercer tacked on one more before
Ella Bartlett was able to take on the defense by herself. The Bears found one more during a woman-up situation to cap off the quarter, 15-2. Mercer's momentum carried into the final quarter, scoring their first goal with 12:24 left in the game. Wofford held the Bears to just one more goal for the remainder of the game to finish with a margin of 17-2.
Wofford will finish off conference play against Radford on Saturday, April 25. The Terriers will take on the Highlanders at 12 p.m., with all action streamed on ESPN+. With results around the conference, the Terriers will host the first round of the Big South tournament as the #3 seed on Tuesday, April 28, at 7 p.m.
