SALISBURY, N.C. --- A third-quarter run from Tusculum University was answered by a fourth-quarter surge from Catawba College as the host Indians took a 16-10 victory on Saturday at Shuford Stadium in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action.
The Indians (5-7, 5-3 SAC) led 11-2 early in the third quarter, only to see the Pioneers (9-6, 3-6 SAC) scored seven consecutive goals including four straight from Tristan Kirkham in a six-minute span to pull within 11-9. Catawba would then score four goals in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter and five in a row to regain control, outshooting Tusculum 11-5 in the quarter and 47-29 for the game.
Kirkham finished with five goals for the Pioneers while Kale Lawrence added two goals and Jordan Daniel had a goal and two assists. Nate Raymond and Lorenz Brown each had a goal to extend their respective goal and point streaks for the Pioneers, while Wesley Phillips had a pair of assists.
Greg Johanning led Catawba with three goals, Tucker Fanzo had two goals and two assists and Christian Norrie, Jared Hadley and Bakari Neely had two goals each for the Indians, who went 29-for-30 on clears including a perfect 22-for-22 over the final three quarters.
Ross Geiger made 19 saves in goal for Tusculum to set the program single-season record for saves with 206, breaking the mark of 189 set by Kevin Haggerty during the 2016 season. Geiger made 13 of his saves in the first half, which saw Catawba outshoot Tusculum 31-12 en route to a 10-2 lead at intermission.
Daniel's three points give him 99 for his career (41 goals, 58 assists), leaving him one shy of becoming the ninth player in program history and third this season to reach 100 career points. Kirkham's five goals increase his season total to 45, leaving him in second place on the Tusculum single-season list behind Raymond's 51 goals this season.
Catawba went up 3-0 on goals from Matt Mitchell, Fanzo and Neely in the first nine minutes before Tusculum got a man-up goal from Kirkham with 4:30 left in the first quarter. The Indians went up 6-1 with three goals in the first minute of the second quarter, but a goal from Brown cut the margin to 6-2 with 11:02 left in the half. Catawba would score four in a row to close the first half with a 10-2 lead.
The Indians went up 11-2 on a goal from Brian Garcia just over a minute into the third quarter, but from there it was all Pioneers for the rest of the period. Raymond started the run with a goal with 11:00 left, followed by two goals by Lawrence in 14 seconds to cut the deficit to 11-5 with 8:08 remaining. Kirkham then scored four straight goals, connecting with 6:47, 2:46, 1:56 and 59 seconds left to bring the Pioneers within 11-9 heading to the fourth quarter.
Catawba would regroup to start the fourth, scoring four goals in the first 2:56 to go up 15-9 on a goal by Fanzo. Catawba would tack on another goal from Jordan Dash with 6:48 left before Daniel closed out the scoring with 5:44 to play.
Andy Michalski went 18-for-30 on faceoffs and had 16 ground balls for the Pioneers, while Daniel and Kirkham had three ground balls apiece. For Catawba, Dylan Cienfuegos was 9-for-16 on faceoffs and had six ground balls, with Payton Leonard leading the Indians with nine ground balls and three caused turnovers. Garcia had four caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls for the Indians, who received seven saves in goal from Tyler Holland.
Tusculum went 1-for-2 with the man advantage, while Catawba did not have any extra-man opportunities in the game. The Pioneers were 18-for-23 on clears and had 26 turnovers to 17 for Catawba.
The Pioneers will conclude the regular season on Saturday, April 23 at Pioneer Field against Wingate, beginning at 4 p.m. The Bulldogs, ranked seventh in Division II at the start of the week, dropped to 10-3 overall and 7-2 in the SAC with a 10-5 loss to Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday evening.
