Tusculum College rallied from a seven-goal deficit in the fourth
quarter, but fell one goal shy as the Pioneers lost 13-12 to
Lincoln Memorial University in a South Atlantic Conference men's
lacrosse match Wednesday night at Pioneer Field.
The Pioneers (3-6, 2-2 SAC) trailed 13-6 entering the final
quarter, but scored four times in the first three minutes to cut
the margin to 13-10. Goals by Tyler Klarner and Keegan Bell brought
the Pioneers within 13-12 with 2:41 to play, but a late shot went
wide of the net and the Railsplitters (5-3, 1-3 SAC) were able to
run out the clock.
Ben Boyd led Tusculum with his second consecutive four-goal game,
while Dallas Wade had three goals and Nate Wade added two goals and
an assist. Chris Ryan joined Bell and Klarner in the goal column
for the Pioneers, who outshot the Railsplitters 14-8 in the fourth
quarter after being outshot 29-20 through the first three
quarters.
Adam Golia scored three goals for the Railsplitters, with Kyle
Arcuri, Billy Kopsky and Tylor Justin adding a pair of goals
apiece. Justin Stewart had a goal and three assists for Lincoln
Memorial, which scored the first five goals of the game and led 9-4
at halftime before Tusculum began its comeback effort.
Goals from Arcuri and Kairos Bodley in a span of 16 seconds helped
the Railsplitters to a 2-0 lead, and the margin expanded to 5-0 as
Golia, Justin and Dylan Neisler each found the net. Boyd put the
Pioneers on the scoreboard with 5:48 left in the first quarter, but
Golia responded with 3:01 to go to give the Railsplitters a 6-1
lead. Ryan netted a goal with 0.3 seconds remaining in the first
quarter to cut the deficit to 6-2 heading to the second
quarter.
Nate Wade scored with a man advantage with 13:43 to play in the
second quarter to bring the Pioneers to 6-3, but the Railsplitters
answered with three goals in a row to go on top 9-3. Boyd's second
of the day with 35 seconds remaining in the second quarter allowed
the Pioneers to go to the locker room trailing 9-4.
Tusculum came out with a man advantage to start the third quarter,
and needed just 17 seconds to convert as Dallas Wade notched his
first goal of the evening. Golia and Boyd exchanged goals a minute
apart to keep the LMU lead at four goals, but the Railsplitters
built the lead to 13-6 as Justin, Kopsky and Stewart closed out the
third quarter with goals.
The Pioneers went to work on the comeback immediately at the start
of the fourth quarter, as Dallas Wade scored 31 seconds in. Nate
Wade and Dallas Wade scored the next two Tusculum goals 56 seconds
apart to pull the Pioneers within 13-9, and Boyd's fourth of the
night made it a 13-10 game with 11:53 remaining. Klarner found the
net with 3:31 to play to cut the LMU lead to two, and Bell tallied
with 2:41 left to bring the Pioneers within 13-12.
Lincoln Memorial won the ensuing faceoff, but was whistled for a
clock violation with 1:07 remaining. Tusculum set up the offense
and looked for the tying goal, but a shot went wide of the net and
LMU was awarded possession with 37 seconds to go. The Pioneers were
able to get the ball back deep in their own end with less than five
seconds remaining, but did not have enough time to take a shot.
On defense, Ross Parsons led the Pioneers with five ground balls
while Jake Smith and Boyd had four ground balls apiece. Nate Wade
had a team-high three caused turnovers, with two each from Boyd and
Sean Kidder. Bodley and Josh Hernandez shared the team high with
six ground balls each for Lincoln Memorial, as Hernandez went
18-for-27 on faceoffs in the game.
Kevin Haggerty finished with 12 saves in goal for the Pioneers,
including eight in the second half, while Joe Madel made eight of
his 15 saves after halftime for the Railsplitters.
The Pioneers return to action Saturday at Queens University of
Charlotte for a SAC matchup that will begin at 3 p.m.
