Women's Lacrosse Defeats Cornell College at Home

Marshall, Mo., (Mar. 12, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College women's lacrosse team hosted Cornell College (Iowa), for a non-conference game, Wednesday afternoon, inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium. The Vikings held off the Rams for a 13-11 victory.

The game started with Missouri Valley going in front early with a goal from Freshman Midfielder Ava Graham (Pearland, Texas) three minutes into the game. Cornell answered back recording two goals under a minute to take the lead, 2-1. Three minutes later, Freshman Ashley Halter (Alcoa, Tenn.) tied the game scoring a goal with six minutes left in the first quarter, and under a minute of the restart Sophomore Attacker Hailey Davis (Maryville, Tenn.) assisted Senior Alexis Lark (Alma, Mo.) to put the Vikings in front, 3-2. Teams traded possession over the next stretch of play, then Cornell tied the game near the 2-minute mark and eventually took the lead again with a late goal in the quarter to make it a 4-3 score.

The second quarter started with a goal from Halter on a free-position shot to tie the game with just over two minutes played of the restart, but the Rams got the goal back moments later to hold a 5-4 advantage. Both teams traded possessions over the next six minutes, where Freshman Audrey Connolly (Houston, Texas) made three saves. With five minutes left in the quarter, Halter added her third goal of the contest to tie the game at 5-5, but Cornell scored two more goals with just under two minutes to play to make it a 7-5 score going into halftime.

Scoring in the third quarter started early, as Graham won the draw control and assisted Halter to keep the scoreboard close, 7-6. Missouri Valley continued to create more offense, and Graham added a goal near the 12-minute mark to tie again at 7-7. The Rams responded quickly after the restart, using a free position shot to take the lead and then added another goal three minutes later to make it a 9-7 score. Teams traded possession over the next stretch of play, and Cornell scored one more goal to extend their lead, 10-7, with six minutes left in the quarter. Missouri Valley answered back as Graham had a goal after the draw control, and Lark followed with another goal a minute later to cut into the Vikings deficit, 10-9. MVC created more chances later in the third quarter, as the Rams goalkeeper had to make three saves. Missouri Valley tied the game as Sophomore Attacker Atleigh Lark (Alma, Mo.) assisted Graham, and then went in front with a late goal from H. Davis sending the teams into the fourth quarter with an 11-10 advantage.

The last quarter of the contest began with a goal from Freshman Midfielder Tiyanna Thomas (Hampton, Ga.) in less than three minutes of play to hold a 12-10 lead. Teams traded possessions over the next eight minutes, which included a goal from Halter to make it a 13-10 score for the Vikings. Cornell added one more goal in the final minutes of the contest as they tried to comeback, but Missouri Valley finished off with a 13-11 win over the Rams.

Leading the team was Halter with five goals, followed by Graham with four goals and one assist. Lark scored two goals, and H. Davis had one goal and two assists, while Thomas added one goal. Connolly made seven saves in goal. The Vikings forced 15 turnovers, won 10 draw controls and came up with 31 ground balls.

Missouri Valley improves to 1-4 on the season, while Cornell drops to 2-3 overall.

Up next, the women's lacrosse team will host Ottawa (Kan.), for a Heart match Saturday, March 15 at 1 p.m., inside Volney C. Ashford Stadium.

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About Missouri Valley College

Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.