NEWBERRY, S.C. --- Despite a South Atlantic Conference-record 30 saves from Tusculum University goalkeeper Ross Geiger, host Newberry College pulled away from a fourth-quarter tie to defeat the Pioneers 23-17 in men's lacrosse action Saturday night at Setzler Field.
Geiger made 15 saves in each half, but could not contend with a fourth-quarter onslaught by the Wolves (4-2, 1-1 SAC), who outscored the Pioneers 9-3 in the final quarter and outshot the Pioneers 65-29 for the match. Baker Westmoreland led Newberry with four goals and five assists, while Mac Ryan had five goals in the victory.
The Pioneers (7-1, 1-1 SAC), who saw their season-opening seven-game win streak come to an end, received three goals and an assist apiece from Tristan Kirkham, Wesley Phillips and Nate Raymond. Raymond's four points give him an even 100 for his career, making him the seventh player in program history to reach the milestone (74 goals, 26 assists).
Geiger's 30 saves smashed the previous program record of 21 set by Patrick Thomas at Catawba on April 21, 2018, and broke the SAC record of 25 saves set by Anthony Valenza of Queens against Lenoir-Rhyne on April 27, 2018. His 30 saves are the most in Division II this season and are tied for the 16th-most in a game in Division II history. The last player to make as many saves in a Division II game was Austin Geissel of Georgian Court, who had 30 saves against St. Anselm on March 11, 2020.
The 40 combined goals between Newberry and Tusculum are a Pioneer program record, breaking the mark of 35 set in Tusculum's 20-15 win over Chowan on Feb. 12. Even with Geiger's performance in goal, the 23 goals allowed by the Pioneers are the most given up in a game in program history, breaking the old mark of 22 against Limestone on Feb. 2, 2019.
Jordan Daniel had a goal and four assists for the Pioneers, while Sean Dunn and Kale Lawrence each had two goals and an assist and Lorenz Brown scored a pair of goals. Both teams were unable to contend with the other's man-up offense, as Newberry was credit with eight extra-man goals and Tusculum with seven.
Neither team led by more than one goal until Ryan scored with seven seconds left in the first half to give Newberry an 8-6 lead at halftime. Tusculum trailed 13-10 midway through the third quarter but surged back to take a 14-13 lead on a goal from Lawrence with 2:57 left in the quarter. The Wolves would tie the game with 1:13 left in the period, then scored the first seven goals of the fourth quarter to turn a 14-14 tie into a 21-14 advantage.
Tusculum received goals from five different players in the first quarter, with Lawrence scoring the tiebreaker with 1:09 left in the opening quarter as the Pioneers led 5-4 after one period. In the second quarter, Dunn had Tusculum's only goal with 8:54 remaining in the period, but Ryan netted the final two of the half as the Wolves went up 8-6 at intermission.
The teams would combine for 14 goals in the third quarter, this time with the Pioneers having the 8-6 advantage on the scoreboard. Phillips scored a pair and Andy Michalski scored with 8:15 left to tie the game at 10-10, but the Wolves went up 13-10 on goals from Westmoreland, Ryan and Scott Reed. Tusculum then took advantage of the man advantage to pour home four goals and go ahead 14-13, as Brown netted two and Raymond and Lawrence scored once apiece as the Pioneers led with 2:57 left in the quarter. Reed would respond late in the period to send the game to the fourth knotted at 14-14.
Newberry scored four times in 3 1/2 minutes to go ahead 18-14, with Ryan and Zachary Sunderland alternating goals for the Wolves. Curtis Bukta added two to give Newberry a 20-14 lead with 7:51 left, and Westmoreland stretched the run to 7-0 with 6:36 to play. A goal from Kirkham with 5:15 left broke the run and gave Raymond his 100th career point on the assist, and each team would score twice more in the final 4 1/2 minutes including Phillips and Kirkham for the Pioneers.
Michalski went 23-for-43 on faceoffs in the match, collecting nine ground balls to lead the Pioneers. Brown had four ground balls while Kirkham and Fred Harbinson each had three. Jack Travassos led Newberry with eight ground balls and Zachery Dadabo had seven ground balls while going 14-for-27 on faceoffs.
Newberry used three different goalkeepers in the match, with Griffen Broad making five saves in 32 1/2 minutes of playing time and one from Nolan Downey in 17 minutes of action. Jackson Von Eschen played 10 1/2 minutes in goal and allowed six Tusculum goals without a save.
Tusculum will host Lenoir-Rhyne in a SAC matchup on Saturday, March 19 at Pioneer Field. The Bears, ranked 10th in the USILA Division II poll this week, fell to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference with a 13-3 loss at Limestone on Saturday.
