Decatur, Ala. - The Marian women's lacrosse postseason run came to an end against No. 3 SCAD-Savannah on Monday evening. The Knights end their season with a 13-4 overall record.
SCAD-Savannah struck first, firing off a trio of goals to take an early lead over the Knights.
Taleah Nool quickly answered with a pair of back-to-back goals to bring the margin down to one. Marian continued to answer with a goal from
Delaney Koles three minutes later, followed by a goal from
Rylie Boezeman to take their first lead of the game. The Bees were quick to counter with another goal, tying the game at 4-4 and ending the quarter.
The Bees opened up the second quarter with a pair of goals, taking back the two-goal lead over the Knights. Koles stopped the run with her second goal of the game, bringing the margin back to one. Each team continued to push back and forth at each other with one goal apiece, with
Allyson Cissell firing off the goal for the Knights and ending the half trailing 7-6.
Both teams opened up the half with back-to-back goals, with
Ella Grace Giedd recording the free-position goal for Marian. SCAD-Savannah continued to maintain its 9-7 lead with a goal a minute later. The Knights continued to push back with a goal from
Alex Dean off a pass from Nool, bringing the margin back down to one. A minute later, the Bees ended the quarter with a trio of goals, extending their lead over Marian 12-8.
Dean opened up the final quarter with a goal, chipping away at the Bee's lead. Both teams' defense shone in the middle of the fourth quarter, holding each other scoreless until the 3:55 mark. SCAD-Savannah struck two more times, extending its lead to five. Nool closed out the game, scoring the final goal of the game, bringing the deficit down to 14-10.
Taleah Nool led the way with a hat trick and three assists, while
Alex Dean and
Delaney Koles each recorded a brace.
Allyson Cissell,
Rylie Boezeman, and
Ella Grace Giedd each tallied one goal as well.
Aniyah Jones and
Olivia Dean led the way in ground ball recoveries with five each, while Koles, Cissell,
Anayiah Williams, and
Grace Kercher each recorded two.
Olivia Dean led the team in caused turnovers with four, while
Anayiah Williams tallied three.
Ruby Mason led the Knights in draw controls while Boezeman recorded three. In the goal,
Aniyah Jones took the start, recording a season high of 14 saves in goal.
Marissa Bardo came in for the remaining 1:15, closing out the game.
The Knights end their season at the NAIA Quarterfinals, which was the first time since the 2019 season that Marian reached the NAIA National Championship Tournament in women's lacrosse.
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