CARY, N.C. – The Geneva College women's lacrosse team tasted sweet victory for the first time in program history on Wednesday afternoon, leading from start to finish at William Peace in picking up an 8-3 win over the Pacers.  The match is the second of three contests during the Golden Tornadoes' Spring Break trip.

The match had a dream start for the women.  Junior Julianna Easley won the opening draw control and sprinted down the field, setting up sophomore Taylor Robinson for a Geneva goal in the opening seconds of the match.  Less than three minutes later, Easley scored off an assist from junior Mara Fowlow to give the Golden Tornadoes a 2-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest.

William Peace answered back with a goal midway through the first quarter, but Robinson scored her second goal off an assist from Easley to give Geneva a 3-1 at the first break.

The Pacers cut the deficit back to one, 3-2, in the opening minute of the second quarter, but Geneva would not concede again until the closing minutes of the match.  Fowlow found the net with six minutes left before half to give the Golden Tornadoes a 4-2 lead at intermission.  Geneva had dominated the game up to that point, outshooting William Peace 17-4 through the first two quarters.  It was only the work of Pacer goalkeeper Kylie McWhorter, who posted ten saves in the opening half, that kept William Peace in the game.

Easley scored her second goal of the match three minutes into the third quarter as Geneva continued to control the game, outshooting William Peace 8-1 in the third period.  Fowlow added her second goal, off a feed from Easley, to give the Golden Tornadoes a 6-2 lead going into the final quarter.

Geneva put the game away in the fourth quarter.  Robinson scored her third goal, off an assist from Easley, and Easley added her third goal with five minutes left to increase the Golden Tornado lead to 8-2 before a late goal by the Pacers closed out the scoring.

"This group has kept focused on small and steady improvements each day," said Head Coach Liz Geyer.  "They have remained dedicated to building something together and have consistently said yes to sacrifices, hard work and this exhausting life of true college athletics.  These girls each have a bright future ahead of them and I'm so proud to help them grow in confidence and skill each day.  This win was well earned and the first of many to come."

Easley had a part in seven of Geneva's eight goals, scoring three times on 13 shots, while adding four assists.  Robinson added three goals of her own, along with four ground balls, while Fowlow totaled two goals, an assist, three ground balls and two draw controls.

Senior Hannah Skwarek had a big part in Geneva's defensive effort, finishing with five caused turnovers and five ground balls.  Sophomore Madi DeRuiter added five ground balls and three caused turnovers, while sophomore Annika Kamerman also forced three caused turnovers.

Geneva finished the match with a 29-8 advantage in shots, including a 19-3 edge in shots on goal.  Junior Lexi Lee made two saves in the win.

The women will enjoy a couple days more of rest over break down south before returning home on Saturday, when they will stop at West Virginia Wesleyan for a 1:00 p.m. contest.