GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Kale Lawrence scored the go-ahead goal with 10:53 left and the Tusculum University defense held Coker University scoreless in the fourth quarter as the Pioneers rallied for a 10-9 victory in the South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship quarterfinals at Pioneer Field Tuesday afternoon.
Lawrence finished with three goals and an assist and Lorenz Brown scored three goals for the fourth-seeded Pioneers (7-4), who advance to face top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne in the conference semifinals on Friday at 11 a.m. at Moretz Stadium in Hickory, North Carolina.
Matt Murphy finished with two goals and an assist and Henry Haskett and Tre Childers had two goals apiece for the fifth-seeded Cobras (6-8), who fell to 0-5 all-time in the conference tournament despite holding a 7-4 lead at halftime. Coker outshot Tusculum 40-38 for the game, but the Pioneers won 14 of the 22 faceoffs and held the Cobras scoreless in three extra-man opportunities.
Riley Burns scored two goals for the Pioneers, with a goal apiece from Nate Raymond and Luke Doehring. Joe Venazio, who led the SAC in points with 74 during the regular season, was held to a goal and two assists along with Andrew Dappen for the Cobras.
Tusculum won the opening faceoff and needed just 1:09 to get on the scoreboard as Brown scored off an assist from Tristan Kirkham. Burns made it 2-0 Pioneers three minutes into the first quarter, but the Cobras responded with goals from Childers and Haskett to tie the game at 2-2 with 8:35 left in the period. Childers added another goal with 6:12 left to give Coker its first lead at 3-2, but Brown and Doehring answered just over a minute apart as Tusculum carried a 4-3 lead to the second quarter.
The second quarter saw the Cobras outshoot the Pioneers 12-4 while scoring all four goals of the period. Venazio scored the tying goal with 13:24 left to knot the score at four apiece, and Haskett tallied just over two minutes later as Coker went up 5-4 with 11:04 left in the half. A goal from Dominic Madlang extended the Cobras' lead to 6-4 with 9:07 remaining in the half, and Murphy made it a 7-4 game with 4:51 to go. Tusculum had just two shot attempts following Murphy's goal, with both off target.
Tusculum broke its scoring drought early in the third quarter as Lawrence scored from a pass by Tanner Deck following a failed clear by Coker, cutting the Cobras' lead to 7-5 with 13:24 left in the period. Tusculum regained possession off the faceoff, and eventually trimmed the margin to 7-6 as Raymond scored with 10:59 to go in the third. The Pioneers had several shots to tie the game, but the Cobras' Chris Hagy made three saves in a 3 1/2 minute stretch before Dappen scored with 2:51 left for an 8-6 Coker lead. Burns scored with 1:46 remaining to make it an 8-7 Cobras lead, but Coker seemed poised to carry a two-goal lead into the fourth on a Murphy goal with just under six seconds left. However, Andy Michalski won the faceoff cleanly and passed to Lawrence, who just beat the horn to pull the Pioneers within 9-8 heading to the final period.
The Pioneers tied the game on Brown's third of the afternoon with 12:07 remaining, and Michalski won the ensuing faceoff to set up the offense. Lawrence took a pass from Jordan Daniel and delivered the go-ahead goal with 10:53 left for a 10-9 Pioneer lead. From there, it was all defense for the Pioneers as the Cobras put their final shot on goal with 8:20 left. Coker's next three possessions ended in a turnover, a shot wide of goal and a turnover as Tusculum had the ball with two minutes left. Coker regained possession off a Pioneer turnover, but lost the ball out of bounds with 1:01 to go and Tusculum ran out the clock.
Brown had 14 of the Pioneers' 38 shot attempts in the game, including eight on goal. Michalski was 8-for-12 on faceoffs and Nathan Fraser went 6-for-8 at the dot for the Pioneers, with Michalski collecting a team-high five ground balls. For Coker, Haskett led with 11 of the 40 shot attempts by the Cobras, while Jason McNeany had seven ground balls while going 8-for-19 on faceoffs. James Brugger led the Coker defense with four ground balls along with two caused turnovers.
Coker finished the game with 15 turnovers, including 10 in the second half, while Tusculum had 14 turnovers as a team. The Pioneers had a 25-23 advantage in ground balls, and the Pioneers were 19-for-21 on clears while the Cobras were 20-for-21.
Tusculum keeper Ross Geiger finished with nine saves in goal for the Pioneers, to go along with four ground balls and two caused turnovers. For Coker, Chris Hagy made 12 saves between the pipes including seven in the third quarter alone.
The Pioneers advance to the SAC semifinals for the third time in the last five conference tournaments and will face a Lenoir-Rhyne squad that is 11-1 overall and ranked sixth in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll. The Bears defeated the Pioneers 21-11 at Moretz Stadium on March 13. The winner of Friday's game will play the winner of the other semifinal game between Wingate and Limestone in the championship game on Sunday
