Box Score
CHARLOTTE, N.C.– The fourth-ranked Queens Royals played host to No. 6 UIndy this afternoon, falling 15-5 in their home opener. With the loss, the Royals record moves to 2-1 on the season.
Kyleigh Masteran led the Royals offensively with two goals on the day.
Ally Blood tallied two points on a pair of assists while
Shannon Kingston also finished with two points producing a goal and an assist.
Kara Blanchard and
Caroline Pearce each contributed a goal.
The Greyhounds got off to an electric pace putting the Royals in an early 4-0 hole. Blanchard was able to get Queens on the board after 12 minutes of play, making the score 4-1. After UIndy answered Blanchard's goal, the Royals found a bit of a groove exposing the Greyhounds for three goals in two minutes. With the offensive surge, Queens cut the lead to one. However, UIndy was able to find the back of the net once more before the end of the half taking a 6-4 lead into the break.
Queens struggled with their rhythm offensively in the second half as the Greyhounds were able to match their first-half offensive output in less than half the time. The six-goal, 14-minute run would prove insurmountable for the Royals. Pearce scored Queens' lone goal in the period cutting the lead to 12-5, but the Greyhounds closed out the game with three unanswered goals.
The final score tells only part of the story, as it was a much closer contest than the scoreboard would lend you to believe. Queens kept pace in all major team statistics with their opponent; the Royals just lacked that finishing touch. UIndy had 31 total shots with 24 hitting the cage, as Queens finished with 21 total and 17 being on goal.
Both teams had trouble keeping the ball with 35 turnovers collectively. The Royals committed 19 compared to the Greyhounds' 16. Queens only failed to clear the ball four times for a 76 percent success rate (13 of 17) as UIndy found similar success clearing the ball 16 out of 22 for a 72 percent success rate. However, Queens would lose the battle at the draw, controlling nine draw controls to UIndy's 12. Additionally, the Royals came away with 17 ground balls as the Greyhounds finished with 25 on the day.
UIndy was led by Abigail Lagos who finished with seven goals. Grace Gunneson and Laureyn Hardoy each recorded hat tricks.
Queens is back in action a week from today on March 6 as they travel to Young Harris, Georgia to take on the Mountain Lions. The game is set for a 12:30 p.m. start.
