Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML) | Photo Gallery

KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State lacrosse team sent their seniors Dana Phillips and Haley Swift off in a big way, leading Stetson wire-to-wire Saturday afternoon to down the Hatters 15-6 and clinch a spot in the ASUN Conference Tournament.

Seven Owls found the back of the net against Stetson, led by Abby Squires with five goals.

How it happened: The Owls (7-9, 2-3) jumped out in front behind back-to-back free position goals from Swift and Izzy Palermo in under a minute. Squires netted her first of the game before Stetson (4-11, 2-3) finally pulled one back at the 19:38 mark to make it 3-1.

KSU did not let up, scoring three goals in three minutes thanks to Payton Gregory, Anna Giulitto, and Siena Gore to lead 6-1 with 10 minutes to go in the half. The two squads traded goals to close out the half with Marissa Gore recording her lone goal of the game before her sister Siena sent KSU into the locker room on a high note with a goal just 17 seconds before the buzzer to make it 8-3.

Despite a goal from Stetson to open the second half, the final period played out much the same way as the Owls responded with three goals in quick succession. After a free position goal from Squires and a goal from Giulitto, Siena Gore scooped up the ensuing draw control and took it straight to the Hatters' net to earn her hat trick and give KSU an 11-4 lead with 21:28 still to play.

KSU continued to push the tempo as Gregory netted her second goal of the game just 30 seconds before Squires scored to earn her sixth hat trick of the season. The Hatters finally brought an end to KSU's 5-0 run, scoring with 18 minutes to go, but Squires could not be stopped netting two more goals a minute apart to make it 15-5 with 16 minutes left to play.

The Hatters recorded one more goal at the 15-minute mark, but that's when the Owls' defense clamped down, holding Stetson scoreless the rest of the way. Sophomore Roslyn Talbert was a major factor in the Owls' defensive prowess, recording a career-high three caused turnovers in the second half, while finishing with a career-high four ground balls. As a team, KSU logged seven caused turnovers in the second half to finish the game with 11 total.

Notes: Abby Squires' five goals marks the third time this year she has netted five or more … Siena Gore finished with three goals, her 12th hat trick of the year … Anna Giulitto recorded two goals, her fourth game in the last five with two or more … Payton Gregory netted a career-high two goals … Roslyn Talbert and Marissa Gore led the way with four ground balls each, both career-marks … as a team, the Owls logged 22 total ground balls to mark only the second time this year they have scooped up 20 or more ground balls … Siena Gore and Abby Squires recorded season-highs for caused turnovers with three and two, respectively … the Owls finished with 11 caused turnovers, the sixth game this season with 10 or more … Emily Napierala recorded three assists on the day, her third game this year with three or more dimes … Marissa Gore tied her career-high with two assists … KSU out-drew Stetson 14-9 as Siena Gore (5), Marissa Gore (4) and Abby Squires (3) all finished with three or more draw controls … the Owls out-shot the Hatters 35-19 with 27 shots on goal compared to 13 for Stetson … KSU did not allow a single free position shot for Stetson, while finishing 5-of-11 from the arc ... the Owls allowed a season-low six goals, the second time this year KSU has held a team below 10 goals … Alex Bunn finished with seven saves.

Quotes: Head Coach Laura Maness
On KSU's offensive play…
"We had a really good scout on Stetson. One of the things we focused on this week was ground balls and getting those extra possessions and we did really well on both ground balls and draw controls. Offensively, we attacked hard and got out to an early lead, which allowed us to set the tempo for the rest of the game. We had a lot of girls contribute on the offensive end."

On halftime adjustments…
"The adjustments we made at halftime were having a bigger sense of urgency when the officials made calls so that we could re-position ourselves to make the next play. I thought they got a couple of easy goals in the first half just because we were not urgent enough on re-positioning ourselves in our ride. I feel like we adjusted well to that, holding a team to six goals in a game is a really tremendous effort on the defensive end. That allowed us to play carefree on offense and create."

Up next: The Owls close out the regular season on the road, taking on Howard Sunday (Apr. 28) at 11 a.m.