For the second consecutive year, the Transylvania Pioneers have swept the regular season and tournament Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference titles in both Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse. On April 26, Transy Men’s Lacrosse clinched the championship with a dominant 26-5 victory over the Hanover College Panthers. One week later on May 3, Transy Women’s Lacrosse clinched the championship with another dominant 19-3 win over the Anderson University Ravens. With their respective wins, both teams clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Pioneers Men’s Lacrosse Team finished the regular season with a 9-5 record and a perfect 4-0 record in the HCLC, earning the top seed and home-field advantage in the conference tournament. On April 24, the Pioneers would host the number four-seeded Anderson University Ravens. The Pioneers would hold a three-score advantage after the first period, but the second period would see an avalanche of scoring by the Pioneers, who scored twelve unanswered goals to take a 16-1 advantage into the half. The Pioneers would not let their foot off the gas in the second half, riding a 75-14 shot advantage and 18 turnovers forced to a 30-3 win that was never in doubt. Two days later, the Pioneers advanced to the championship to face the number two-seeded Panthers. The Pioneers had as little trouble with Hanover as they did with Anderson, scoring ten goals in the first period and taking an 18-2 advantage into halftime. Four Pioneer players would score at least three goals, leading the Pioneers to a commanding 26-5 victory and the HCLC Tournament Championship. The Pioneers would also have an impressive showing in the HCLC season awards. Sophomore Attacker Andrew Welch took home Offensive Player of the Year, and Transy players made up eight out of the fifteen players on the HCLC First Team All-Conference.
The next week, Transy Women’s Lacrosse began their campaign to clinch the HCLC Tournament Championship for the seventh year in a row. The Pioneers finished with a perfect 5-0 conference record, including an emphatic 20-2 victory over the Spalding University Golden Eagles to close the regular season and clinch the number one seed in the conference. The Pioneers earned a bye with the number one seed and automatically advanced to the championship game, where they faced the number two-seeded Ravens. The Pioneers opened the game with seven unanswered goals, eventually taking a 14-1 lead into halftime. Fifth-year goalkeeper Grace Smilek would only allow two more goals in the second half to preserve the Pioneers’ comfortable first-half lead and cruise to a 19-3 championship-clinching victory. Eight Pioneers were named to the All-Tournament Team, in addition to the nine Pioneers named to the First and Second All-Tournament Teams. Senior Midfielder Charlotte Green was also named HCLC Offensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row.
By winning each of their respective championships, both Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse earned automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. The Men’s team will travel for their first round matchup first, facing off against the Rhodes College Lynx in Memphis on Wednesday, May 7 at 3:00 PM. The Women’s team will travel later to Sewanee, Tennessee to face the Washington and Lee University Tridents on Saturday, May 10 at 2:00 PM.
