MARS HILL, N.C. --- Two six-goal runs boosted Mars Hill University to a 15-13 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at Meares Stadium.
Trevor Kennedy scored five goals and Brandon Woodward had three goals and three assists for the Lions (4-12, 1-8 SAC), who trailed 4-1 midway through the first quarter before their first six-goal surge, and overcame an 8-7 second-quarter deficit with their second goal run of the day.
Sean Dunn and Nate Raymond each had three goals and an assist for the Pioneers (4-11, 0-9 SAC), with two goals apiece from Tristan Kirkham and Wesley Phillips along with a goal and two assists from Jordan Daniel. Will Cookman and Aiden Caskey also scored for Tusculum, which was outshot 43-38 by Mars Hill in the match.
Mars Hill scored 39 seconds into the match on a goal from George Yanssens, but Tusculum answered with a goal 46 seconds later on a goal from Daniel to tie the game at 1-1. Dunn would score twice and Raymond once over a three-minute span to give Tusculum a 4-1 lead with 6:11 left in the first quarter, but the Lions would score four straight in the final 4:30 of the period to take a 5-4 lead after one.
Goals from Kennedy and Woodward pushed Mars Hill ahead 7-4 with 12:12 to go in the half, but Tusculum would go on a run of its own as Dunn, Raymond, Phillips and Cookman would score consecutive goals to put the Pioneers on top 8-7 with 4:48 left in the half. A goal from John Hommel with 3:36 to play would tie the game at 8-8, which stayed the score until halftime.
Mars Hill came out with five goals in the first six minutes of the third quarter to go ahead 13-8 before Caskey broke the Pioneer drought with 7:34 left. An exchange of goals a minute apart from Woodward and Kirkham led Tusculum facing a 14-10 deficit heading to the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, Austin Stroud scored with 13:30 left to stretch the Lions' lead to 15-10, but Mars Hil would go scoreless the rest of the way. Kirkham netted his second of the game with 12:38 left and Raymond added a goal with 7:14 remaining to cut the margin to 15-12, but Tusculum would not score again until Phillips scored with 37 seconds on the clock.
Mars Hill had a 21-10 advantage in faceoffs over Tusculum and went 22-for-24 on clear attempts to 20-for-27 by the Pioneers. The Lions were 1-for-5 with the extra man and the Pioneers were 1-for-4 on man-up opportunities.
Dunn and Drake Vance had five ground balls apiece for the Pioneers, while Nolan Ross added four. For Mars Hill, AJ Howland was 19-for-27 on faceoffs with 10 ground balls, while Jake Lynch had seven ground balls and three caused turnovers on defense.
Both goalkeepers played the entire game, with Tusculum's Riley Semmes finishing with 10 saves and Steven Smith matching him with 10 saves for Mars Hill.
Raymond finished his Tusculum career as the program leader in goals (125) and points (164), while Daniel finished as Tusculum's career leader in assists with 90 and second in points with 147.
