Karl L. Moore

Senior Recognition: Women's Lacrosse

By Chuck Tidmore: Assistant Director of Athletic Communications

3/30/2020 11:30:00 AM

The Piedmont College women’s lacrosse team culminated its 2020 season with a 3-3 record while going 2-1 in USA South Athletic Conference play. Five of the six games were played on the road, including all three conference matchups.

The Lady Lions closed their season with a 21-1 conference win over Salem College. Four seniors combined for 11 of the goals.

The Lady Lions were led by first-year head coach Kirsten Smith and third-year assistant Miranda Reininger. PC finished the season with 16 athletes on its roster, including four, four-year seniors. During their duration at Piedmont, they won 34 games and finished 22-7 against league competition.

Piedmont also appeared in two conference championship games (2017, 2018) and reached the semifinals of the conference tournament in 2019.

Because of the 2020 season being cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Piedmont athletic communications staff will recognize the seniors who were set to receive Senior Day honors for their respective sports.

Four women’s lacrosse athletes (Erin Aylward, Rowan Bumpass, Cassidy Heflin and Domonique Steele) have been with the program since 2017 while newcomer Amari Price joined the team this season after an extraordinary career with the women’s basketball team.

Coach Randi (Miranda Reininger) and I are so proud of our seniors and all that they have done with their time here at Piedmont, whether it be on or off the field.

I don't think anyone has ever been as lucky as I have been, to have such an amazing first senior class for their first year as a head coach.

Even with just knowing them for one year, I've been able to see them grow so much and I'm so excited to see all of the amazing things that they do when their time at Piedmont is complete.

They have definitely left an amazing impact on myself, Coach Randi, their teammates and the entire Piedmont women's lacrosse program.

Head Coach Kirsten Smith

Domonique Steele | #9 | Midfield | Duluth, Ga. | Nursing

Steele's Bio

Steele closed out the 2020 campaign with a team-best 23 points off 14 goals and nine assists. She added 14 ground balls and 16 draw controls while tying for first in assists and was second on the team in goals, draw controls and ground balls. Over her career, she has scored multiple goals in 23 contests and had four or more points on 12 occasions.

In the season-opening game at Birmingham-Southern, Steele scored twice while dishing out two assists. With her second goal of the game, Steele reached 100 career points.

In the 21-1 season finale win over Salem, Steele recorded seven points off a four goal and three assist performance. Her seven points were the second time she reached that mark in a game. In 2019, Steele scored five goals and had two assists against Salem.

Earlier in 2019, she had her first five-goal performance in a win over Oglethorpe. In 2018, Steele had a career-best eight draw controls against Ferrum.

We are so proud of Dom and how far she has come since the beginning of fall.

Despite expressing that she didn't want to play midfield, she worked her butt off and dominated in the midfield while doing everything that was asked of her, without question.

Her and Cass [Heflin] had an amazing connection in the draw circle that we will definitely miss in the coming years.

I can't wait to see what a great nurse Dom is going to be and I know that she will take her bubbly and extremely honest personality through everything that she does.

Piedmont Women's Lacrosse Coaching Staff

First Career Goal: vs. Rhodes (2/11/17)

First Career Multi-Goal Game: (2) vs. Oglethorpe (2/14/17)

First Career Assist: at Centre (2/17/17)

Career Stats

60 games played (55 starts)
121 points (85 goals and 36 assists)
109 draw controls
67 ground balls
39 caused turnovers

Individual Stat Ranking By Year

Year Points Goals Assists Ground Balls Draw Controls

2020 1st (23) 2nd (14) T-1st (9) T-2nd (14) 2nd (16)

2019 4th (48) 3rd (30) 2nd (18) 12th (17) 2nd (30)

2018 5th (33) 5th (27) 6th (6) 6th (23) 3rd (47)

2017 T-6th (17) 7th (14) 7th (3) 12th (13) 6th (18)

Erin Aylward | #10 | Defense | Matthews, N.C. | Athletic Training

Aylward's Bio

Aylward capped her 2020 season with six starts in six games for the Lady Lions. Playing as a defender, she caused seven turnovers and picked up nine ground balls as she helped the defense hold opponents to a .480 shooting percentage.

In Piedmont’s conference-opening win over William Peace, she recorded her first assist of the season before adding her only goal of the year in a win over Salem. Defensively, Aylward had four ground balls and three caused turnovers in the season-opener at Birmingham-Southern.

Last season, she produced single-game career highs in ground balls (eight) and caused turnovers (five) in a home win over Salem.

Her play in 2019 earned her a spot on the All-Conference list after she was named to the third team. She finished tied for second on the team with 26 ground balls and her 16 caused turnovers ranked fourth.

We've been so blessed to have Erin be a part of our program.

She has been an anchor for our defense throughout the year and never hesitated when we asked her to step into other roles when we needed her to.

She has grown so much more confident throughout her time here and I know she was always working to get better.

I'm very proud of what she's done on the field and I'm pumped to see how great she is as a certified athletic trainer!

Piedmont Women's Lacrosse Coaching Staff

First Career Goal: vs. Oglethorpe (2/14/17)

First Career Multi-Goal Game: (2) at N.C. Wesleyan (3/10/18)

First Career Assist: vs. Oglethorpe (2/14/17)

Career Stats

55 games played (42 starts)
24 points (14 goals and 10 assists)
54 ground balls and 25 caused turnovers
16 draw controls
USA South third-team All-Conference (2019)
USA South Academic All-Conference (2019)

Individual Stat Ranking By Year

Year Games Points Caused Turnovers Ground Balls Draw Controls

2020 6 8th (2) 5th (7) 8th (9) --

2019 18 9th (3) 4th (16) T-2nd (36) 6th (12)

2018 18 7th (15) 15th (1) 13th (6) 9th (3)

2017 13 9th (5) 14th (1) 15th (3) T-12th (1)

Cassidy Heflin | #13 | Midfield | New Windsor, Md. | Biology

Heflin's Bio

Heflin has been an all-around player since she stepped onto campus. Despite playing in only four games in 2020, she scored seven goals and had five assists. She led the team and was fifth in the conference with 31 draw controls and picked up 14 ground balls which tied for second on the team.

For her career, she has led the team in draw controls the past three seasons and has accumulated 215 draws, which is second-best in school history.

Last season, she led the team with 24 assists and ranked second both her freshman and sophomore seasons in assists. Her 80 career assists are third in school history.

In the 2020 season opener, Heflin recorded a career-high 11 draw controls before adding 10 more against William Peace. During her freshman season, she had an eight-point performance against Methodist with four goals and four assists.

Cass is the kind of student-athlete who has all of the qualities you want all of your student-athletes to emulate.

She is hard working and passionate in absolutely everything that she does from her biology classes to the lacrosse field to leading and caring about her teammates. Although this season was cut very short for her, I have no doubt that she gave every ounce of effort that she possibly could.

We will miss her ability to read and adjust the draw with Dom [Steele] and her overall leadership of our team. Her leadership over the past few years has greatly impacted our entire program.

I have no doubt that she will be an extraordinary physician's assistant and any patient would be lucky to have her.

Piedmont Women's Lacrosse Coaching Staff

First Career Goal: vs. Oglethorpe (2/14/17)

First Career Multi-Goal Game: (2) vs. Adrian (3/3/17)

First Career Assist: vs. Rhodes (2/11/17)

Career Stats

56 games played (53 starts)
176 points (96 goals and 80 assists)
215 draw controls and 95 ground balls
55 caused turnovers
USA South second-team All-Conference (2017, 2019)
USA South Honorable Mention All-Conference (2018)
USA South All-Tournament Team (2019)
USA South All-Academic Team (2017-19)

Individual Stat Ranking By Year

Year Games Points Goals Assists Ground Balls Draw Controls

2020 4 5th (12) 6th (7) 4th (5) T-2nd (14) 1st (31)

2019 17 3rd (51) 4th (27) 1st (24) T-2nd (36) 1st (90)

2018 17 2nd (61) 3rd (38) 2nd (22) 4th (26) 1st (72)

2017 18 T-2 (52) 5th (24) 2nd (28) T-6 (19) 5th (21)

Rowan Bumpass | #14 | Attack | Kellar, Texas | Business

Bumpass' Bio

Bumpass finished her senior season with a team-best 20 goals in six games. In the opening and closing games of the season, she scored five goals. She finished third on the team with 21 points after recording one assist in a conference win at William Peace.

In her four seasons, she led the team in goals and was top-three in points each of the last three seasons. She finished fifth in points her freshman year.

Her 166 goals rank second in program history as she was four goals away from tying the program record. Last season she tallied 59 goals, which is third best for a single season at Piedmont.

In a 15-10 conference tournament win over Greensboro in 2019, she tied a school record with seven goals in a game. She has scored four or more goals in a game 19 times, five or more seven times and six or more four times.

Rowan is one of the most passionate and hard working student-athletes that I've had as a coach. She was constantly working to become a better lacrosse player and really focused on the details of everything that she was doing on the field.

She always stayed after or came early to practice to get at least a few more reps in. I'm very thankful of the high standards that Rowan has held herself and her teammates to throughout her time here.

We can't wait for the day when Rowan takes over the business world with her drive and determination!

Piedmont Women's Lacrosse Coaching Staff

First Career Goal: vs. Rhodes (2/11/17)

First Career Multi-Goal Game: (3) vs. Rhodes (2/11/17)

First Career Assist: vs. Birmingham-Southern (2/22/17)

Career Stats

60 games played (60 starts)
178 points (166 goals and 12 assists)
70 ground balls and 37 caused turnovers
27 draw controls
USA South second-team All-Conference (2018-19)
USA South All-Academic Team (2017-19)

Individual Stat Ranking By Year

Year Games Points Goals Assists Ground Balls

2020 6 3rd (21) 1st (20) T-6th (1) 5th (11)

2019 18 2nd (63) 1st (59) 5th (4) 11th (20)

2018 18 3rd (52) 1st (47) 7th (5) 7th (22)

2017 18 5th (43) 1st (40) T-6 (3) 8th (17)

Amari Price | #1 | Midfield/Defense | Hiram, Ga. | Biology

Price's Bio

Price joined the 2020 women’s lacrosse team after a tremendous basketball career. She only managed to play in two games after leading the Lady Lions basketball team to the conference championship game.

In her two games, Price started twice and scored her first career goal in the win over Salem. She picked up three ground balls and had one draw control to close her short lacrosse career.

On the basketball court, Price ended her career with numerous records. As a senior, she set the career scoring and assist records. As a junior, she set the assists record for a single season.

I think anyone can tell you that Amari is a straight athlete. We are so thankful to her for taking a chance on us and trying a brand new sport in the last semester of her college career.

Basketball skills translate very well to the lacrosse field and that was very noticeable when Amari stepped onto the field after the season had started. Who else can say they practiced for less than a week, played in their first two lacrosse games (ever) and absolutely dominated!

We're so appreciative of Amari and are proud of her courage to take on a brand new sport.

Piedmont Women's Lacrosse Coaching Staff