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ROCK HILL, S.C. – Seven Owls found the back of the net Saturday afternoon as the Kennesaw State women's lacrosse team downed Winthrop 16-11 for its first win of the season.
 
Siena Gore was dominant once again, leading all scorers with six goals to mark her third straight game with five or more goals. 
 
How it happened: Winthrop (0-6) took control with back-to-back goals in under a minute to open the game. Marissa Gore got KSU (1-3) on the board 30 seconds later to make it 2-1 at the 25:28 mark.
 
Then Siena Gore came alive, netting three straight goals to put the Owls on top 4-2 with 17:46 to go. After a goal from the Eagles, Siena Gore and Emily Napierala each recorded a goal to push the Owls lead to three, 6-3, with five minutes to go. Winthrop managed to grab one more goal before the end of the first half, netting it with 30 seconds left to play.
 
Napierala came out firing to open the second half, recording a goal just 20 seconds into the period. Another goal from Siena Gore, this time off a free position shot, extended KSU's lead before the Eagles pulled back within two, 8-6, with just under 20 minutes left.
 
The Owls pushed their lead back out to four, 11-7, as Anna Giulitto, Haley Swift and Izzy Palermo all found the back of the net. Winthrop attempted to cut into KSU's lead with three of the next four goals, but back-to-back goals from Palermo and Giulitto in under a minute made it 14-10 at the six-minute mark. 
 
Following goals from Winthrop and Abby Squires, Napierala capped off the game with her first hat trick of the season to earn the final score of 16-11.
 
Notes: Apart from her six goals, Siena Gore finished the game with five draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers … Emily Napierala recorded her first hat trick of the year to bring her season total to five … Izzy Palermo and Abby Squires each netted two goals followed by Marissa Gore, Anna Giulitto and Haley Swift with one each … Marissa Gore recorded a career-high six draw controls … Alex Bunn logged her fourth straight game with double-digit saves, finishing with 11 … KSU finished 13-for-16 on clearance attempts … Winthrop recorded 15 turnovers in the game, compared to nine for KSU … 28 of KSU's 30 shots were on goal.
 
Up next: The Owls open a three-game homestand Thursday night (Mar. 7) against St. Bonaventure at 7 p.m.