Two Lacrosse Heavyweights Battle it Out at Ken White Field

David Finney - photo by Gian-Luca Fahling

Waleska, GA - It is not too often that you get a regular-season match-up of two top ten teams playing in your own backyard, but that is just what happened on Monday afternoon at Ken White Field. Eagles Women's Lacrosse was welcoming in the currently ranked #3 team in the NAIA, Keiser University (formerly #1). The Eagles are right there with them in the rankings currently coming in at 5th place Both teams were coming into this game with one loss each and both teams were ready to show each other what they were all about.

Morgan McGhee would step up and make the first goal for the Eagles just under three minutes into the first quarter. This would set the tone for what the fans were going to see from McGhee in the game. The senior from Marietta was not going to let the Eagles be denied a win in this big game. The first goal was just one of 6 total that she would have for the game. She had a hat-trick in the first quarter alone.

Shelby O'Neil would be the next to score before Keiser rattled off three goals to take the lead right around the ten-minute mark of the first quarter. The scoring was lining up just as you would think when two talented and skilled teams face each other. The first quarter would end with Keiser having the narrow one goal lead at 5-4. 

The second quarter would see Alyssa Klinger get involved in the scoring as she would get 2 goals in the quarter and 3 total in the game. It was a big moment for Klinger and the Reinhardt Women's Lacrosse program as she would score her 100th career goal. The two goals helped Reinhardt get a commanding 4 goal lead which they would never relinquish for the rest of the game. The second quarter would end with the Eagles taking a 10-6 lead into halftime.

The third quarter started with Keiser getting the first three goals of the half and cutting into the four-point lead that the Eagles had gained in the first half.  With the score now 10-9, the Eagles could have panicked and allowed Keiser to take the lead, but they showed much composure and straightened things out quickly. The Eagles would rebound from giving up the three goals by answering back with five goals to end the third quarter. Jillian Mello, Mia Griswold, Kelsey Sowa, Shelby O'Neil, and Alyssa Klinger all would contribute to the third-quarter run which got the Eagles back to a commanding 15-9 lead. The third quarter would end with a six-point deficit for the Seahawks. 

The Eagles knew that they would still be in a dogfight in the fourth quarter because Keiser was not going to go down easily. Morgan McGhee would get two more goals in the fourth quarter which helped the Eagles keep the six-point lead. Keiser would start their inning getting four runs in a row after McGhee's lead-off run. Macy Fulton and Shelby O'Neil would both score as well in the fourth. Each time the Seahawks would make their runs to get back into the game, Reinhardt would answer right back and get several runs to push their leads up again. The quarter would end with the Eagles holding off Keiser's late run and enjoying a tremendous 19-15 win over the #1 team in the nation. 

Morgan McGhee was the team leader for this game and carried the Eagles to victory. Her 6 goals were the best of either team and it seemed to be the difference between winning and losing this game. Shelby O' Neil was not too far behind with four goals and handing out 3 assists. Alyssa Klinger was next in line with 3 goals and Jillian Mello would have 2 goals total. 

After this Keiser game, the Eagles only have two more regular-season games before tournament play begins. Truett McConnell will be Saturday, April 2nd at noon and then the Eagles will play on Saturday, April 9th at Montreat.