Joseph Marvin: Assistant Sports Information Director
BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard College Tornados (3-2) returned home for the first time since February 9, falling to NCAA Division II opponent Davis & Elkins (2-1) in non-conference action on Tuesday afternoon at Ives-Lemel Field by a final of 16-8.
Brevard, who played the first of three-straight home matches this week, hung tight with the Senators of Davis & Elkins in the first half before the Senators pulled away after the intermission.
Freshman Hannah Scharf led the way offensively for the Tornados, scoring three goals, which included two free position conversions.
Micaiah Vacchiano contributed to the Tornados efforts, scoring twice in addition to dishing out two assists. The junior midfielder from Sebastian, Fla. led all players by grabbing nine ground balls. Vacchiano currently sits fourth in the USA South with 13 goals, and fifth in total points with 15.
Hunter Denney scored and dished out an assist, while Kelly Wilkins and Jezika Gunter also got their name on the scoring ledger.
Davis & Elkins was catapulted to victory via an impressive six-goal, seven-point performance from Angelina Horan. Horan put six of her eight shots-on-goal into the back of the net while converting three free position shots.
The Senators opened scoring up at the 26:07 mark in half one, as Horan converted her first free position attempt. Brevard would answer right back with a free position conversion of its own, as Gunter tied the contest with 23:31 left in the first half.
Davis & Elkins converted its second free position shot to go up 2-1 at the 19:16 mark. Brevard would storm back, as Denney and Scharf knocked in back-to-back goals, giving Brevard its first lead at 3-2 with 10:20 left in the first half.
From there, the Senators racked up four unanswered goals, holding a 6-3 lead with 4:28 left on the first half. Brevard cut into this deficit as Wilkins sending a Vacchiano pass into the back of the net as the Davis & Elkins Senators held a 6-4 lead heading into the intermission.
After the break, the Senators scored four more unanswered goals to extend their lead to 10-4 with 21:51 left to play. Both sides then traded goals at 11-5, before Scharf sparked a late Tornado rally with back-to-back goals to cut the deficit to 11-7 with 13:24 left in the match.
Davis & Elkins shut the door with three-straight goals, followed by two goals in the last seven minutes to claim the 16-8 non-conference victory.
Both sides converted around the same amount of free position shots, as the Senators scored 6-of-11 compared to Brevard's 4-of-7.
Davis & Elkins were successful on 14 of its 17 clear attempts, while Brevard only converted 12 of its 26 attempts on the afternoon.
The Senators outshot the Tornados 31-19, including a 22-16 shots-on-goal advantage. The Senators won 15 draw controls compared to the Tornados' 12, while each side committed 21 fouls.
Brevard will return to action this weekend for back-to-back USA South Conference games at Ives-Lemel Field. The Tornados face Pfeiffer University (1-0) on Saturday, March 9 at 2 p.m. before hosting Salem College (1-2) on Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m.
To follow along with all the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Athletics, please follow the Tornados on Twitter and Instagram @bctornados, subscribe to 'Brevard College Tornados'' on YouTube, follow 'Brevard College Tornados' on SoundCloud, or like Brevard College Athletics on Facebook.
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