GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's lacrosse team can take a step forward in its quest for a berth in the South Atlantic Conference Championship tournament when the Pioneers visit Coker on Friday at 2 p.m. in their lone game of the week.
The Pioneers (5-4, 2-4 SAC) are in sole possession of seventh place in the SAC standings, one game behind Newberry and Catawba who are each 3-3. The top six teams in the final standings qualify for the postseason, and Tusculum has a home game with Catawba awaiting on Sunday, April 11.
The Cobras (3-5, 1-4 SAC) will be playing their third home game in six days when the Pioneers visit Hartsville on Friday. Coker defeated Mars Hill 27-10 on Sunday, then lost 21-9 to fourth-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne on Tuesday.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Playing in heavy rain and around a one-hour weather delay, the Pioneers battled 16th-ranked Queens on Saturday before falling 12-8 at Pioneer Field. Braden Elam and Tristan Kirkham each scored two goals and Nate Raymond added a goal and a career-high four assists in the loss.
Last Wednesday, the Pioneers defeated Anderson 9-7 as Lorenz Brown scored three goals and Ross Geiger finished with a season-high 15 saves. Tusculum's defense held the Trojans scoreless for a 15-minute span of the second half and again for the final 8 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter.
Raymond leads the Pioneers with 15 goals and is second on the team with 21 points. He has scored a goal in seven straight games and has at least one point in all nine Pioneer games this season. Elam regained the team lead in points with 22 on 12 goals and 10 assists, while Kirkham and Brown have each scored 14 goals. Brown has a goal in six straight matches and a point in all nine contests.
Andy Michalski is winning faceoffs at a 57 percent clip (78-for-137) and leads the Pioneers with 45 ground balls. Connor Coleman has 32 ground balls and a SAC-leading 20 caused turnovers, while Tanner Deck is fifth on the team with 22 ground balls and is tied for second with Noah Jessey with seven caused turnovers.
In goal, Geiger is fifth in the SAC in goals against average at 10.44 and ranks sixth in both saves (93) and save percentage (.505).
Tusculum is next-to-last in the conference in goals per game (10.56) but ranks second in shooting accuracy by putting 65.1 percent of its shots on target. The Pioneers are fourth in the SAC in goals against average (10.22) and fifth in save percentage at .521.
SCOUTING THE COBRAS
Coker ranks third in the SAC in goals per game (14.50) but third from the bottom in goals against average (14.39). The Cobras' nine goals against Lenoir-Rhyne were a season low, and Coker has allowed at least 15 goals in six of its last seven games.
Junior attack Joe Venazio ranks seventh in the SAC with 25 goals and third in assists with 22, placing him fourth in points with 47. Venazio has at least a goal and an assist in each game, including five-goal games against Chowan and North Greenville.
Senior attack Matt Murphy had contributed 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points, while senior attack Andrew Dappen has 19 goals and eight assists for 27 points. Eight different Cobras have scored at least six goals.
Junior Jason McNeany has won 95 faceoffs to rank second in the conference, at a success rate of 51.9 percent. McNeany is third in the conference with 52 ground balls, while senior James Brugger leads the team with 14 caused turnovers and has 23 ground balls.
Senior Chris Hagy has started all eight matches in goal for the Cobras and has a 15.12 goals against average with 100 saves. He ranks ninth in the conference with a .478 save percentage, while tying his season high with 18 saves in Tuesday's loss to Lenoir-Rhyne.
The Cobras hold a 4-3 edge in what has been a highly-competitive series, in which the home team has lost six of the seven matchups.
