Box Score FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. â€" The ending to the Pioneers' matchup was reminiscent of a fairy tale Saturday, as Transylvania, playing a man down, rallied in an incredible 10-goal second half to seal a one-point victory against the Methodist Monarchs, 14-13.

Tied at 13, the winning goal came out of the pocket of sophomore Molly Kruse, making her lone goal of the match count with only three minutes remaining. A converted pass from freshman Natalie Hendrix to Kruse sailed past Monarch goalkeeper Ashley Cannon into the Methodist cage for the win.

""I have never been so proud of a group of people in my life," said Head Coach Haley Marvine. "Not a single Pioneer ever doubted we would win this game and that is so powerful."

Sophomore Rachel Harrison paced the Pioneers, scoring six goals on six shots and netting five groundballs. Following Harrison was sophomore Sky Spraker, recording three goals on seven shots, two groundballs and five draw controls, and sophomore Lucy Meredith, who also netted three goals on three shots. Hendrix assisted the winning goal, while also tacking on one of her own, along with six shots and seven draw controls.

Playing a man down due to injury, Transylvania Coach Haley Marvine knew the odds were stacked against them from the starting whistle, playing against what she deemed to be the "best team" they'd face on their opening season road trip. And, Methodist lived up to their expectations.

In the first 10 minutes of gameplay, the Monarchs dominated the offensive momentum, scoring four consecutive goals on the Pioneer net to secure an early 4-0 advantage. At the 20^th minute, Harrison created the spark the Pioneers needed, notching two back-to-back unassisted goals in less than one minute, followed by two additional from Spraker and Hendrix, tying the game at 4-4.

Just when Transylvania began rolling, Methodists' Zhane' Ruffin snatched the momentum, scoring the first of three consecutive Monarch goals before the halftime buzzer sounded. Heading to the locker room, the Pioneers trailed, 7-4.

Coming out of the half, Methodist struck first, creating two back-to-back goals and advancing the score to 9-4. Over the course of 10 minutes, the teams matched one another with four goals each, giving the Monarchs a 13-8 advantage with 15 minutes remaining in the game.

Transylvania may have been down, but they certainley weren't out.

"We knew what we had to do and each player executed their role," said Coach Marvine. "We trailed the whole game, but we were confident we had them right where we wanted them."

Transylvania's aggressive offense went on a 6-0 scoring spree out thanks to four Pioneer players, including Meredith, Spraker, Harrison and Kruse. A shot by Methodist's Hope Motahari threatened to halt the Pioneer success, but a clutch save by Transylvania goalkeeper Lydia Shaughnessy saved the momentum in the Pioneers' favor.

The  Pioneers open their home season at the Transylvania Athletic Complex on Tuesday, March 18 facing Wilmington (Ohio) at 7 p.m.