FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Cassie Walter accounted for 12 points, and nine different players scored as the Methodist women's lacrosse team cruised to a 22-2 win over Southern Virginia on Saturday afternoon at Monarch Stadium.
 
The Monarchs (2-0) dominated play from the opening draw, scoring the first six goals of the contest for a 6-0 lead less than nine minutes in. Walter and Zhane' Ruffin each scored twice to open the contest.
 
The Knights (0-1) tallied their first goal of the game at the 20:21 mark on Megan Barfuss' unassisted tally for a 6-1 game. Methodist needed just 31 seconds to answer as Maddi Ronelli scored off a feed from Emily Brennen for a 7-1 lead, only to see SVU trim its deficit to 7-2 with 11:12 left in the first half on Rainey Whitworth's unassisted goal.
 
From there, the Monarchs poured it on offensively, outscoring Southern Virginia, 5-0, to close out the half for a 12-2 lead at halftime. In the second half, the Monarchs needed just 39 second to build on their lead as Walter scored her fifth goal of the game for a 13-2 advantage and MU would out score the Knights, 10-0, in the second half.
 
Emily Ewin picked up her second win in goal (2-0) as she made eight saves on the day. Cammi Miller played all 60 minutes for the Knights and made seven saves.
 
Methodist out shot SVU, 34-16, converted 13-of-19 clears, picked up 23 ground balls, and won the turnover battle, 18-27. The Knights collected 14 draw controls to 12 for MU.
 
Hope Motahari had a hat trick and added an assist for Methodist. Brennen had two goals and an assist, and Ronelli, Ruffin, and Sareena Coleman finished with two goals apiece. Emily Creasy led MU with five ground balls, while Bianca Terenzi, Brennen and Gabbi Tobias each had three. Creasy also forced four turnovers, and Walter led the team with four draw controls.
 
For Southern Virginia, Zoe Bradshaw and Daniell Bybee had three ground balls apiece, and Sarah Vanderwende had five draw controls.
 
Methodist is back on the field on Mar. 1, when it hosts St. Vincent at 3:00 pm.