GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Coming off consecutive one-goal matches, the Tusculum University men's lacrosse team will take to the field this week for a pair of matches, at home against Quincy on Tuesday, March 10 and at 13th-ranked Queens on Saturday, March 14.
The Pioneers (3-3, 1-0 SAC) won their conference opener at Newberry on Saturday by a score of 11-10 as Luke Doehring scored the deciding goal with 3:34 to play. Tusculum led 5-0 in the first quarter, but Newberry came back to tie the match in the fourth and had a two-man advantage in the closing seconds.
All-time, the Pioneers are 8-12 in one-goal games, with a 6-4 record in overtime contests that includes a 9-8 loss to Alabama Huntsville in their most-recent home game on Feb. 29.
RECAPPING THE WEEK
Tusculum led Newberry 5-0 at the end of the first quarter, but the Wolves came back to tie the game with three goals in the third quarter at 9-9. Doehring scored a go-ahead goal with 6:09 to play, but the Wolves came back just 15 seconds later to level the score at 10-10.
Liam Macdonald led the Pioneers with four goals and an assist, with two goals from Doehring and a goal and an assist from Lorenz Brown. Also scoring for the Pioneers were Braden Elam, Josh Pickford, Tristan Kirkham and Kale Lawrence.
Andy Michalski went 13-for-23 on faceoffs for the Pioneers, who outshot the Wolves 45-25 and received eight saves from Ross Geiger, who has held five of the Pioneers' six opponents to 10 goals or fewer.
LOOKING AHEAD
Quincy (0-3) is a first-year program making its first road trip, a three-game swing to Tusculum, Alabama Huntsville and Montevallo in a span of five days. The Hawks lost their first-ever game 16-6 to Saint Ambrose on Feb. 26, then fell 14-0 to Lynn on March 5. On Sunday, the Hawks lost 11-6 to Felician in a neutral-site game.
Andrew Borror leads the Hawks with three goals, with two goals apiece from Max Greco, Grayson Kuan and Lane Chapman. On defense, Neal Dardis leads the Hawks with 12 ground balls. As a team, the Hawks have won just 14 of 64 faceoffs through three games, but the Quincy defense is holding the opposition to two goals in 18 man-up opportunities.
Sam Huff has played two matches in goal for the Hawks and has made 35 saves for a .538 percentage, while Ian Speth made 21 saves in his lone start against Felician.
Queens (5-2, 1-0 SAC) defeated Coker 16-7 in their conference opener on the road Saturday afternoon. Quinn Tallant led the Royals with five goals and an assist, Eric Fitz added four goals and two assists and Drew Flack went 19-for-24 on faceoffs with 11 ground balls. The Royals led 5-4 at halftime, then scored six unanswered goals in the third quarter to take command.
The Royals are 2-1 against ranked opponents, beating 16th-ranked Lynn 12-7 in the season opener on Feb. 1, and defeating 19th-ranked Rollins 13-8 on Feb. 15, both at Savannah, Georgia. On Feb. 29, the Royals lost at home to 6th-ranked Belmont Abbey 11-10 in overtime after Tallant scored the tying goal with 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Tallant leads the Royals with 19 goals and nine assists for 28 points (tied for 4th in SAC), while Kealan Pilon has 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points. Tyler Ewen (13 goals) and Laszlo Henning (10) are also in double figures for the Royals, who average 13.43 goals per game. Queens has scored 14 man-up goals at a 43.8 percent clip to lead the conference. Flack is fourth in the league with 51 ground balls and wins 66.7 percent of his faceoffs.
Kyle Hornik has started all seven matches in goal for the Royals and leads the conference in save percentage (62.8 percent) while ranking second in goals against average (9.19) and save percentage (.628).
Queens is 6-1 all-time against Tusculum, winning twice last season by scores of 16-8 in the regular season on the road and 16-8 at home in the SAC Championship quarterfinals. The Pioneers are 0-4 all-time in Charlotte, with their only win coming at home by a 12-9 score in 2017.
LEADER BOARD
Macdonald leads the Pioneers with eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points in six matches, and has at least one point in 13 straight games dating to last season. Macdonald has 69 goals and a school-record 70 assists for 139 career points, three points shy of the Tusculum record of 142 points set by Nate Wade from 2015-18.
On defense, Quinn McKitrick is tied for third in the conference with nine caused turnovers, while Braden Elam leads field players with 18 ground balls. On faceoffs, Andy Michalski has won 65 of 109 and has collected 25 ground balls. Goalkeeper Ross Geiger has started all six games and has a 9.73 goals against average (third in the SAC) with 41 saves.
The Pioneers are third in the conference with 11 man-up goals and second in man-up percentage at 42.3 percent. Tusculum's 87.7 clear percentage is tops in the league, and the Pioneers are third in goals against average at 9.59, having allowed 10 goals or fewer in four straight contests and in five out of six this year.
FOLLOW THE GAMES
Links to live stats and video for Tusculum University athletic events can be found through tusculumpioneers.com.
