Joe Buduo scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:11 left in the
fourth quarter as Lenoir-Rhyne University rallied from a two-goal
deficit to defeat Tusculum College 8-7 Saturday in South Atlantic
Conference men's lacrosse action at Pioneer Field.
The Bears (5-4, 3-0 SAC) trailed 7-5 with less than nine minutes
remaining, but tied the game on a goal by Will Remsen with 3:58 to
go. Lenoir-Rhyne then won the ensuing faceoff and Buduo scored on a
wraparound to give the Bears the lead for good.
The Pioneers (2-5, 1-1 SAC) jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first
quarter and never trailed until Buduo's go-ahead goal. Tyler
Klarner finished with two goals and three assists for the Pioneers
while Andrew Kransberger scored twice for the Pioneers, who led 3-1
after one quarter and 6-4 at halftime before the teams played a
scoreless third quarter.
However, the Bears outshot the Pioneers 16-6 in the fourth quarter
and had a 9-3 edge in ground balls in the frame as part of their
comeback. For the game, Lenoir-Rhyne outshot Tusculum 39-27 and
held a 37-23 advantage in ground balls. The Bears also won 15-of-19
faceoffs and forced the Pioneers into 19 turnovers.
Boyd opened the scoring just under three minutes into the first
quarter, and goals from Klarner and Ryan extended the Tusculum lead
to 3-0 with 5:27 remaining in the quarter. Collier Stone put the
Bears on the board with a goal with 3:08 left in the period, and
Remsen tallied with 9:23 left in the second quarter to cut the
Pioneer lead to 3-2.
Tusculum answered with goals from Kransberger and Jake Smith to go
in front 5-2 with 6:02 left in the half, but Buduo and Ben Corrigan
tallied just over a minute apart to bring the Bears back within 5-4
with 56 seconds remaining in the half. Klarner sent the Pioneers to
the break with a goal with 7.9 seconds left in the second quarter
for his fourth point of the half and a 6-4 Pioneer lead.
Following a scoreless third quarter, the Bears pulled within one on
a goal by Taylor Thilo with 11:13 left. Kransberger netted his
second of the game off a Klarner assist with 9:29 remaining to put
the Pioneers up 7-5, but Mike Hanlon tallied with 8:23 left to help
Lenoir-Rhyne back within a goal.
Tusculum was led on defense by Charles Mills, who had four ground
balls and a caused turnover. Smith and Mitch Chapman had three
ground balls apiece for the Pioneers. Shane Gottberg had a
game-high 12 ground balls for the Bears, on the strength of a
15-for-19 performance on faceoffs, while Hanlon and Collin Lett had
four ground balls apiece for the Bears.
Kevin Haggerty finished with 14 saves in goal for the Pioneers, one
shy of his season high and the sixth time in seven games he has
reached double figures in saves for the Pioneers. Ryan Crompton had
nine saves for the Bears and also collected five ground balls.
The Pioneers are on the road for their next match, when they travel
to Salisbury, North Carolina to face Catawba in SAC action on
Saturday, March 26 at 7 p.m.
