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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Kennesaw State women's lacrosse fell in the first round of the ASUN Women's Lacrosse Championship 16-9 against the three seed Liberty Flames.
KEY PLAYERS: Lexi Tinker recorded a hat trick to pace the Owls offense, with
Caleigh Shore and
Natalie Charyak each scoring two goals, and
Marleigh Belinfanti dishing out three assists. On defense,
Lauren Dobbs once again paced the team with four caused turnovers, with
Brooke Kelly and
Cybella Smith each scooping up four ground balls.
THE RUNDOWN: The Flames won the opening draw and scored a quick goal to put the Owls in a quick hole. Tinker provided an immediate answer, muscling through the defense to tie the game up the very next possession. Liberty found the net again almost immediately after the next draw control to recapture the lead. After three combined goals within the first two minutes of the game, the defenses took control of the game, creating a nearly ten-minute scoring drought. Liberty then stopped the trend with its third goal of the night pushing the lead to 3-1 after the first quarter.
The Owls battled back, not wasting any time in the second quarter, scoring two goals back-to-back within 20 seconds to tie the game again at 3-3. Tinker scored her second goal man-down after a Liberty turnover, before Belinfanti tied the game on the next possession after the assist from
Lauren Dobbs. The Flames recaptured the momentum from KSU, scoring six unanswered goals to enter halftime up 9-3.
The second half began with Liberty extending its lead out to an 11-3 advantage. The Owls fought back, going on a three-goal run and recapturing the momentum of the game.
Cohen Ridenour intercepted a Liberty clear attempt to give KSU possession back, where Tinker found
Jordyn Olivo, who fired the pass into the net, cutting the lead to seven. Charyak got on the board for the first time the next possession on the feed from Belinfanti, the deficit now down to six. Tinker scored a hat trick goal on the ensuing possession to make it three goals in a row for the Owls, and only an 11-6 Liberty lead. The Flames scored three more goals before the end of the quarter, taking a 14-6 lead into the final 15 minutes.
The Owls would not go away quietly in the fourth quarter, stifling the Liberty offense through the first ten minutes of the quarter, and scoring two more goals, refusing to let the game get away. Shore and Charyak both found the net to cut the deficit back down to six with seven minutes remaining. Every possession the Owls battled and fought, demonstrating incredible resolve, with Shore scoring her second goal in the final seconds to push the KSU goal total up to nine. Ultimately, it wasn't enough, as the Owls fell 16-9 to Liberty to cap off an 8-10 season that saw KSU return to the ASUN Championship for the first time since 2023.
NOTES
- The Owls set a new program record in caused turnovers, finishing the season with 169 to set the new mark.
- Tinker has now scored four or more points in eight games this season, her 58 points on the season are tied for the seventh most all-time in a single season.
- Dobbs' four caused turnovers mark the fifth game this season with at least four caused turnovers in a game, she also finished with 48 ground balls on the season, the third highest single-season total in program history.
- Dobbs won a draw control to push her career total to 100, becoming the eighth player in program history to reach the century mark.
- Belinfanti tied her career high in assists with three and points with four.
- Cybella Smith finished the season with 114 saves, the third highest mark in program history.
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