No. 18 HPU WLAX Earns Big South No. 1 Seed with 16-14 Win over Winthrop

• The Panthers earned at least a share of the Big South regular season championship and will host the Big South Tournament
• It is HPU’s sixth conference regular season or tournament championship this school year, a new Division I record for the school
• Senior Erica Perrotta had five goals and fellow senior Brooke Stevens recorded six assists

ROCK HILL, S.C. — The No. 18/19 High Point University women’s lacrosse team earned a hard-fought 16-14 win over Winthrop Wednesday night (April 18) at Eagle Field. With the win, the Panthers earned at least a share of the Big South regular season championship, the No. 1 seed in the Big South Tournament and will host the semifinals and finals May 4-6 at Vert Stadium.

It is the sixth conference regular season or tournament championship for HPU this season, a Division I record for the HPU athletic department. HPU women’s lacrosse joined women’s cross country, men’s soccer (regular season), women’s soccer (regular season and tournament) and volleyball (regular season) as Panther programs who have won conference titles this season.

“We are very excited to bring this regular season championship home for HPU and thankful to be hosting the Big South Tournament in two weeks,” HPU head coach Lyndsey Boswell said. “I did not feel we brought the appropriate level of focus and intensity to start the game tonight, however our leaders pulled through and found a way. I continue to be proud of the way this group plays together, and I’m looking forward to the next few weeks.”

HPU (13-2, 6-0 Big South) held a 19-13 advantage in draw controls, but had 18 turnovers to 14 for the Eagles (12-4, 4-2 Big South). High Point held a one-shot advantage in shots, 31-30.

The Panthers took a 7-3 advantage with 8:48 left in the first half after scoring four goals in a row, but the Eagles came right back and scored the next five to take an 8-7 advantage at halftime.

High Point scored three goals in a row to start the second half and take the lead for good at 10-8. The Eagles cut the lead to one at 10-9 and 11-10, but that was as close as they would get.

Senior Erica Perrotta scored five goals to lead the Panthers, while fellow senior Brooke Stevens recorded six assists. Sophomore Ashley Britton and freshman Abby Hormes each added four goals, while junior Samantha Herman tallied a hat trick and a school-record 13 draw controls.

Up next, the Panthers close out Big South regular season play at Longwood on Saturday (April 21) at 1 p.m.