Box Score LEXINGTON, Ky. â€" An Urbana turnover resulted in a go-ahead game winning goal Thursday, as the Pioneers trumped the Division II opponent, holding on for a close 10-9 finish.

"It's not our prettiest win, but it feels good to be 5-2," said Head Coach Haley Marvine. "The team never gave up and I'm very proud of them for that."

The Pioneers came out of the gate swinging, netting the first three goals of the matchup out of the pockets of sophomores Sky Spraker, Lucy Meredith and Aubrey Bausum, who saw her first minutes of the season after returning from injury.

What seemed like a one-sided matchup quickly changed as Urbana snagged the offensive momentum, responding with three-straight goals of their own. With 19:20 on the clock, sophomore Molly Kruse put the Pioneers up one, 4-3, but Urbana continued to pound at the Transylvania cage. The Urbana duo of Tabitha Stein and Hannah Walters netted two more goals before a 10-minute lull in the action.

The Blue Knights managed one more goal at the 6-minute mark, giving them a two-goal advantage. Meredith would cut the deficit to a fragile one-point at 2:04, netting an unassisted goal before the buzzer. With another half remaining, the Pioneers trailed by one, 6-5.
Though the Pioneers managed five goals in the first, their conversion on 10 turnovers kept the Blue Knights in the game.

Transylvania locked down the defense in the second half, allowing only six shots on the Pioneer cage, seven groundballs, while forcing 12 Urbana turnovers. Less than four minutes into the second, Transylvania struck twice for the go-ahead goal, thanks to Spraker and Bausum, off an assist from sophomore Rachel Harrison.

The Blue Streaks refused to be shaken, coming back with two back-to-back goals by Walters at the 23-and 19-minute marks, regaining their lost lead, 8-7.

The tug-of-war would continue, as the Pioneers would battle for two additional goals, taking back the advantage 9-8 with under nine minutes in the contest. But, as expected, no lead would be solidified. It was Urbana's Stein who knotted up the game 9-9 in the dwindling minutes with 7:44 on the clock.

For four minutes, the teams would battle for control. What should have been a momentum shifting timeout for Urbana resulted in a turnover by Urbana's La'Donna Bonner, giving the ground ball directly to Transylvania's Hendrix, resulting in an immediate shot and game-winning goal for the Pioneers, as they rolled to victory in the final three minutes, 10-9.

Bausum paced the Pioneers in goals, notching three on seven shots, followed by Spraker, Hendrix and Meredith with two goals each. Hendrix dominated the field in ground balls, snagging nine, while Spraker tied her with team-high draw controls with four each.

Goalkeeper Lydia Shaughnessy netted five goals in the victory en route to recording her fifth win of the season.

The Pioneers continue their home stand on Saturday, facing Calvin College at 11 a.m.