SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Montevallo women's lacrosse tallied a 16-15 win over Converse in the season opener as Ellery Shearer set a career-best with six goals on the night.
 
Montevallo's MacKenzie Griffin tallied her first save of the season just 73 seconds into the season before Chloe Norman gave the Falcons an early lead at the 12:46 mark. Moments later, Montevallo newcomer Kiara Crawford extended Montevallo's lead on a solo effort. Defending Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Year Ellery Shearer got on the board with 9:51 on the clock to give UM a 3-0 lead over Converse. The Valkyries ended Montevallo's run at the 8:34 mark before a two-minute scoreless stretch from both sides. On a free-position shot, Jenna Piazza tallied her first goal of the year before Mikaela Barbieri added a fifth goal just seconds later. Shearer scored back-to-back goals for the Falcons before Converse responded with a goal of its own. Norman found the back of the net with 2:31 on the clock before Converse made the score 8-3 on the next possession. Barbieri gave the Falcons a 9-3 lead with her second goal of the night in the closing seconds of the first.
 
After an early Converse goal to make the score 9-5, the two attacks slowed in the second quarter with just six total goals compared to 13 in the first. The Valkyries trimmed Montevallo's lead to just three before Claire Withington's first goal of 2025 ended a 3-0 Converse run. Montevallo freshman Asha Jamieson pushed Montevallo's lead to 11-6 with her first career goal at the 5:42 mark. Hoover, Ala. native Kiley Shea added to the Falcons lead just over a minute later with UM's second free-position goal. Converse's keeper denied a pair of UM shots down the stretch to send the game into the half with a 12-6 Montevallo lead.
 
Shearer continued her dominant performance out of the half with a fourth goal just 90 seconds into the half. Griffin added her fifth save of the night to keep the Falcons on top at the 11:54 mark. Shearer tallied a fifth goal of the night on a free-position attempt to give Montevallo a 14-6 advantage. With 9:43 left in the third, Converse ended a 5-0 Falcons run to trim the lead down to seven. The two sides went scoreless for the next five minutes with Griffin adding a pair of saves before Converse adding an eighth goal at the 4:11 mark. Just a minute later, Withington tallied a second goal on the night to give the Falcons a 15-8 lead. Griffin stuffed a Converse free position shot but the Valkyries scored after picking up the loose ball. Off a pass from Barbieri in the closing seconds, Shearer set a career-high with her sixth goal of the night to give UM a 16-9 lead heading into the final stanza.
 
Converse struck first in the final quarter just 16 seconds into the fourth to trim Montevallo's lead down to six before adding another at the 11:12 mark to cut the lead down to five. The Valkyries took advantage of the Falcons scoreless beat with a goal at the 10:35 on a free position attempt. With 7:25 on the clock, Converse cut Montevallo's lead to 16-13. The Valkyries trimmed Montevallo's lead down to just two with just 3:22 left to play. Montevallo's lead shrunk to one with just under two minutes on the clock. The Falcons closed the final two minutes with possession to move to 1-0 with a 16-15 win over Converse.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 16 | Converse 15
Records: Montevallo 1-0 | Converse 0-1
Location: Hayden Abney Fulp Field at Weisiger Stadium | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
GAME NOTES

• Montevallo dominated the first quarter with nine goals in the opening 15 minutes before adding three in the second and four in the third.
• The Falcons tallied 31 shots on the night with 16 goals for a .516 shooting percentage.
• Ellery Shearer made her way into the record books with a career-high six goals for the third most in Montevallo history.
• MacKenzie Griffin tallied 10 saves on the night with 15 goals allowed for a .400 save percentage with four coming in the third quarter.

 
UP NEXT: Montevallo heads to Franklin Springs, Ga. on Sunday, Feb. 2 to take on Emmanuel at 12 p.m.