Perritte’s 5-Goal Night Powers Reinhardt past Piedmont

DEMOREST, Ga. — A late first-quarter surge turned the tide, and Reinhardt Women's Lacrosse never looked back, riding a five-goal, two-assist performance from Emma Perritte to a 13-7 road win over NCAA DIII Piedmont on Wednesday night.

Trailing 2-0 early, the Eagles closed the first quarter on a 6-0 run and seized control of the game. Perritte finished with five goals and two assists, while Izzy Prestia added three goals and two assists as Reinhardt used balanced scoring, efficient extra-player opportunities, and a decisive shot advantage to pull away. The Eagles outshot Piedmont 33-19 and converted four power-play chances in the nonconference matchup officiated by August Gotter, with 88 in attendance.

Piedmont struck first behind Lovette Choloh's opener at 13:31 of the first quarter and held a 2-0 lead before Reinhardt's offense erupted. Prestia put the Eagles on the board with a man-up goal off a Perritte feed at 7:50, then Lawna Henry tied it from another Perritte assist. In the final minutes of the quarter, Reinhardt took control as Perritte converted a man-up chance on a setup from Prestia and the Eagles continued the surge to close the frame with a 6-2 advantage.

Reinhardt maintained pressure through the middle quarters, outscoring Piedmont 3-1 in the second and 2-2 in the third. Lainey Byrne's goal at 10:19 of the second, assisted by Carly Harris, pushed the lead to 7-2 before Perritte struck again to make it 8-2. After Choloh stopped the run late in the half, Reinhardt carried a 9-3 lead into the break. In the third quarter, Piedmont briefly closed within 9-5 on goals from Clara Welch (man-up) and Choloh, but Prestia answered off a Byrne assist, and Perritte's free-position goal with 15 seconds left in the quarter stretched the margin back to 11-5.

Henry opened the fourth-quarter scoring at 12:06 to give Reinhardt its largest lead at 12-5, and the Eagles' special teams continued to deliver. After a man-up goal from Piedmont's Savannah Limehouse, assisted by Carson Bezold, Reinhardt responded with another extra-player tally when Ava Pieron finished a feed from Prestia at 6:54. Limehouse added a free-position goal with 5:33 remaining, but Piedmont could not chip further into the deficit as Reinhardt closed out the 13-7 victory.

Perritte led all scorers with her five goals on six shots and added two assists to fuel the Eagles' attack. Prestia's three goals and two assists, along with Henry's two-goal effort, gave Reinhardt multiple threats in the offensive third. The Eagles also held a 12-10 edge in draw controls and collected 20 ground balls, capitalizing on Piedmont's 28 turnovers. Defensively, Reinhardt limited the Lions to 19 total shots and 14 on goal while recording seven saves.

Reinhardt will have a couple of days off before they are back in action on the road at Life University on Saturday.  This is traditionally a competitive matchup between the two NAIA schools that are only about thirty minutes apart. The game is set for 12 pm in Marietta, Georgia.  The Eagles are 3-1 overall now with Life and Oglethorpe on the schedule before AAC play starts in roughly two weeks.