Mike Martiello scored six goals, including three during a decisive 7-1 run through the second and third quarters, as Coker College defeated Tusculum College 13-7 in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Field.

Andy Campos had three goals and two assists and Ryan Maurer had a goal and four assists for the Cobras (4-4, 2-1 SAC), who overcame an early 3-1 deficit by holding the Pioneers (4-4, 0-3 SAC) to one goal in a span of 26 minutes to come away with the victory.

Ben Boyd had two goals for the Pioneers and Mitch Chapman had a goal and two assists, but the Pioneers committed 22 turnovers to offset a 17-7 advantage in faceoffs over the Cobras. David Fernandes, Jack Timerson, Coogan Lethco and Kellen Asmundson also scored for the Pioneers in defeat.

A goal by Asmundson just 44 seconds into the game gave Tusculum a quick 1-0 lead, and Boyd scored off a feed from Chapman to extend the Pioneers' lead to 2-0 with 7:05 left in the first quarter. Martiello got the Cobras on the scoreboard with 5:02 remaining in the first quarter, and the 2-1 Tusculum lead carried all the way into the second quarter.

Just 16 seconds into the second quarter, the Pioneers made it a 3-1 lead as Alexander Kleinberg won the faceoff and fed Coogan Lethco for the goal. Martiello trimmed the deficit to 3-2 with 8:19 left in the half, and Timothy Smith netted the tying goal with 6:56 remaining.

Just 40 seconds later, Shane Wilson tallied with the man up to give the Cobras a 4-3 lead, but Fernandes scored off a pass from Chapman to level the game at 4-4 with 4:01 to go in the half. Maurer would give Coker the lead at the half when he scored with 43 seconds left to push the Cobras in front 5-4 at the break.

Coker continued its scoring spurt to start the third quarter, as two goals from Martiello and one from Campos gave the Cobras an 8-4 lead with 5:25 left in the quarter. The Pioneers broke their drought on a goal by Jack Timerson with 2:42 remaining in the quarter, but Martiello scored his fifth goal of the game with 56 seconds remaining to make it a 9-5 Coker lead heading to the fourth.

A goal from Campos extended the Cobras' lead to 10-5 at the 45-second mark, but Chapman responded with the man advantage off a pass from Darrin Wilson to bring the Pioneers within 10-6 with 11:39 left. However, Martiello answered 30 seconds later and Shane Wilson added a goal with 8:24 left to give the Cobras a 12-6 lead. Boyd scored his second of the game with 2:25 left and Campos tallied with 41 seconds left to cap the scoring.

Tusculum finished the game with a 43-36 advantage in shots over Coker, but both teams finished the game with 26 shots on goal. The Pioneers also had a slim 34-32 edge in ground balls and went 22-for-24 on clears while the Cobras were 27-for-28 as a team.

Individually, Chapman led the Pioneers with four caused turnovers and also had five ground balls. Kleinberg, who was 17-for-24 at the faceoff dot, had 10 ground balls to lead all players. Boyd also had five ground balls for the Pioneers as did goalkeeper John Perrucci.

For the Cobras, Dylan Marks was the team's defensive standout with four caused turnovers and six ground balls. John Elliott and Sean Buff also had three ground balls apiece for the Cobras, who forced the Pioneers into 10 of their 22 turnovers. Martiello's six goals came on 12 shots, while Campos netted his three goals on four shots.

Perrucci finished the game with 13 saves for the Pioneers, while the Cobras' Tim Ryan made 16 stops in 54 minutes and backup Anthony Malik had three saves over the final six minutes.

The Pioneers will be on the road next Saturday at 7 p.m. in a South Atlantic Conference contest at Catawba.