MARS HILL, N.C. --- Nate Raymond scored twice in a three-minute span early in the fourth quarter to break a 6-6 tie and boost Tusculum University to a 9-7 win over Mars Hill University in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action Wednesday night at Meares Stadium.
Tristan Kirkham had three goals and an assist for the Pioneers (3-0, 1-0 SAC), who erased deficits of 2-1, 4-3 and 6-5 to open the season with three straight wins for the first time since the inaugural 2014 season. The Pioneers, who entered the game leading Division II in faceoff winning percentage at 81.8 percent, received a 12-for-14 performance from Nathan Fraser who also collected five ground balls.
Kale Lawrence and Sean Dunn each had a goal and an assist for the Pioneers, while Braden Elam and Josh Pickford each scored a goal in the victory. Neither team led by more than a goal until Raymond's second goal of the fourth quarter gave the Pioneers an 8-6 lead. Mars Hill cut the lead to 8-7 with 6:55 left, but Elam scored just 37 seconds later and Tusculum rode the two-goal lead to the victory.
Justin Lundy paced the Lions (2-2, 0-2 SAC) with two goals and an assist and Braden Hoskyn scored two goals, while Zac Carrigan, the SAC scoring leader with 12 goals entering the match, was held to a goal and an assist on nine shots and Joey Baumgardt also had a goal for the Lions, who were outshot 36-32 by Tusculum.
The Pioneers opened the scoring as Kirkham netted his first of the evening off an assist by Dunn with 8:37 left in the first quarter. Carrigan and Trevor Kennedy responded with goals for Mars Hill, the latter giving the Lions a 2-1 lead with 3:32 left in the quarter, but Pickford took a Kirkham feed and scored 46 seconds later for a 2-2 tie at the end of one.
A goal from Dunn just 30 seconds into the second quarter restored Tusculum's lead at 3-2, but that would be their only goal of the quarter as the Pioneers came up empty on five shots while turning the ball over eight times. A goal from Lundy with 12:25 left in the quarter and one from Hoskyn with 3:06 left sent Mars Hill to intermission with a 4-3 lead.
The Pioneers carried over a man advantage from the final seconds of the second quarter, and tied the game 48 seconds into the third on a goal from Lawrence,. Kirkham gave the Pioneers a 5-4 lead with 12:57 to go in the quarter, and the lead held until Lundy tied the game with 6:04 left and Baumgardt followed with 4:41 remaining for a 6-5 Lions lead. The final lead for Mars Hill would be short-lived, as Kirkham scored off a Lawrence assist with 3:10 left to tie the game at 6-6 heading to the fourth.
Raymond's first goal with 13:21 left gave Tusculum the lead for good at 7-6, and he collected another with 10:20 to go for an 8-6 Pioneer lead. Hoskyn responded with 6:55 to go to trim the margin to 8-7, but Elam finished off the scoring with 6:15 left. Tusculum's defense rose to the occasion in the final quarter, forcing Mars Hill into eight turnovers and limiting the Lions to nine shot attempts and just three on goal.
On defense, Connor Coleman had three ground balls and three caused turnovers for the Pioneers. Jordan Daniel had four ground balls and Tanner Deck collected three for the Pioneers, who had a 36-26 edge in ground balls over the Lions in the match.
Tusculum goalkeeper Ross Geiger made 10 saves to earn the win for the Pioneers, while Steven Smith had 15 saves for the Lions.
The Pioneers will play the last of four straight road matches to start the season on Saturday with a trip to Lees-McRae for a noon contest with the Bobcats.
