Rocky Mount, NC - The Piedmont College women's lacrosse team needed to fend off a late surge from the #4 seed Ferrum College earlier Friday afternoon in the semifinal round of the USA South Championship Tournament with the Lady Lions claiming a tight 11-10 win. 

Piedmont was dominant in the opening period leading 8-3 after 30 minutes of play behind a MCKYNSEY DOUGLAS first-half hat-trick that helped PC to the five-goal margin at the intermission.  

However, the top seeded Lady Lions were outscored 7-3 in the second half of what became a thriller in Rocky Mount as Ferrum trailed by just one with the ball in hand and 2:16 to play.  

It was then that the Piedmont defense clamped down on the Panthers forcing a Ferrum turnover that allowed PC to successfully clear and salt away the one-goal victory on neutral territory in postseason play.  

Ferrum falls to 8-8 with the loss as the Panthers were led by five goals from All-Conference performer Courtney Hamm.  However, Piedmont's own All-Conference selections helped the Lady Lions secure the win as MCKYNSEY DOUGLAS and MAGGIE MCDANIEL combined for eight goals on the afternoon as the two were the only Lady Lions to score in PC's offensively quiet 2nd half.  

The two teams were tied at 3-3 with 12:35 remaining in the first half before Piedmont scored five unanswered to finish the period as ALEXIS NARDUCCI and JENINE BRIDEAU added scores in the five-straight stretch.  Ferrum answered scoring the first four goals of the second half to cut the Piedmont lead to just one at 8-7 with still better than 24 minutes to go in regulation. 

A Douglas goal with 21:48 to play put the lead back up to two as the pair of programs would start to trade scores over the final 22 minutes.  Ferrum scored with just less than seven minutes left to make it a one-goal game at 11-10 Piedmont, but the Lady Lions would end the scoring there as PC survived and advanced with the one-goal win over the Panthers.

LOGAN RUCK led PC with two assists while the Lady Lions' leader in the ground ball department was CAHNER MANNS who also tallied a game-high nine draw controls.  In the cage, first-year starter BLAKE FORREST picked up the victory, her 13th in the first 14 career starts for the young goalie.

With the victory, Piedmont moves to 14-1 overall on the season and takes a spot in the championship game of the USA South postseason tourney for the second consecutive year.  With Meredith College winning a 20-19 thriller in the second semifinal of the afternoon, the stage is set for a dramatic rematch between these two women's lacrosse titans as the two matched up in last year's final as well.

The Avenging Angels came out on top in overtime in that showdown to claim the 2014 USA South title, and these two programs have had battles in the regular season as well with Piedmont claiming a two-goal win over MC earlier this season at Walker Athletic Complex. 

The opening draw in the USA South Championship Game on Saturday, April 18 is set for 1:00 pm in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.  The contest will be carried with live video courtesy of the Office of Sports Information at Methodist University and live stats will also be provided.