Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania women's lacrosse team used a pair of five-goal performances from Courtney Pontious and Salem Carlow to fend off the Depauw University Tigers in an 18-15 thriller on Senior Night at Pat Deacon Stadium on Friday evening.
 
The victory boosts the Pioneer record to 6-4 overall on the year while Depauw drops to 4-3 overall.
 
The adrenaline of senior night provided a jolt to the Pioneers as they hit the ground running from the opening draw. Carlow earned two goals within the first two minutes of the game with quick strikes while Pontious and RJ Johnston fired home goals of their own to quickly spur the Pioneers to a 4-1 advantage four minutes into the contest.
 
The Tigers did not back down as three consecutive scores by the visitors forced the Pioneers to regroup. Transylvania stormed back with a 4-0 run fueled by a goal and two assists from Pontious and a strike from Abbey Peterson to cushion the lead at 8-4.
 
Pontious and Peterson continued to harden under the pressure of the Depauw comeback. The closing stages of the half saw Depauw tally three goals in the final three minutes. But the Pioneers held firm as Pontious capped the half by scoring her 40^th goal of the season off of a nice dish from Carlow, rewarding the Pioneers with an 11-8 lead at the break.
 
The restart resulted in immediate pressure from the Tigers as quick pair of Depauw goals cut the Pioneer run to just one goal. Once again, the Pioneers had the answer as Mandi Rider, Johnston, Pontious, and Carlow teamed to score four goals in just under five minutes to reclaim a strong advantage at 15-10.
 
The back-and-forth affair continued into the latter portion of the half as the Tigers refused to let the Pioneers pull away. The Tigers tallied two quick goals to quickly jump back within striking distance, but Johnston and Carlow provided the security blanket by finding the back of the net and pushing the lead out to five goals with 12:15 left in regulation.
 
Depauw fought back to score a trio of goals over an extended period of time, forcing the Pioneers to call a timeout with 2:08 remaining in the game and the advantage whittled to 17-15. Carlow rose to the occasion again with her fifth goal of the night with 1:01 remaining in the contest to seal the win for the Pioneers.  
 
Pontious and Carlow powered the Pioneer offense with an identical total of five goals and three assists each. Pontious added seven ground balls while Carlow scooped up four.
 
The Pioneers are slated to resume conference play, taking on the Hanover College Panthers on Wednesday, April 14 at Pat Deacon Stadium. First draw is set for 7:00 p.m. in Lexington.
 
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