GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Anderson University remained undefeated in South Atlantic Conference play as the 12th-ranked Trojans defeated Tusculum University 19-9 in men's lacrosse action Wednesday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
Radyn Badraun finished with five goals and an assist, Logan Gaddis had three goals and four assists and Ryan Bitterman scored three times for the Trojans (8-1, 3-0 SAC), who outshot the Pioneers 61-24 and had a 23-9 advantage on faceoffs. Ryley Zopfi finished with two goals and three assists for Anderson, which had a 52-29 edge in ground balls over Tusculum.
Tristan Kirkham led the Pioneers (4-5, 0-3 SAC) with five goals and Nate Raymond contributed a goal and two assists for Tusculum, which went 2-for-3 on extra-man opportunities in the match. Sean Dunn and Aiden Caskey each finished with a goal and an assist for the Pioneers, who also received a goal from Bauer Swystun.
Anderson dashed to a 4-0 lead after 5 1/2 minutes on goals from Zopfi, Badraun, Gaddis and Garrett Hawkins before Tusculum got on the board on a goal from Kirkham with 3:47 left in the opening quarter. Bitterman then scored three straight goals in a 3 1/2-minute stretch for a 7-1 Trojans lead with 12:05 remaining in the half. Tusculum would score three in a row over a five-minute stretch from Raymond, Kirkham and Swystun to pull within 7-4 with 4:33 remaining, but two goals from Badraun and one from Gaddis gave the Trojans a 10-4 lead at halftime.
The Trojans scored four of the six goals in the third quarter, with Dunn and Kirkham netting goals for the Pioneers, as Anderson led 14-6 after three quarters. Kirkham scored twice in a span of 43 seconds in the fourth quarter, with a man-up goal from Caskey with 2:28 left setting the final margin.
Tusculum's defense was led by Nolan Ross who had six ground balls and three caused turnovers, while Tyler Nunenmacher and Nicholas Drennan had five ground balls for the Pioneers. Aaron Fabelo won nine faceoffs for the Pioneers and had four ground balls.
Cam Weeks was 17-for-22 on faceoffs and had 13 ground balls to lead the Trojans, while Tagrt Houghton and Mason Gore each had four ground balls and two caused turnovers. Diego Lopez added four ground balls and three caused turnovers for the Trojans, while Peyton Jefferson had three ground balls and two caused turnovers along with a goal.
Tusculum goalkeeper Riley Semmes had 18 saves in 52 1/2 minutes of playing time, while Diego Hopkins had two saves in the final 7 1/2 minutes. For Anderson, Hunter Klosterman made 10 saves in 56 minutes and Bryce Cheek made one save in the final four minutes.
The Pioneers will be idle until Saturday, March 25 at Limestone, beginning at 3 p.m. The Saints, ranked 16th nationally this week, snapped a two-game losing streak with a 16-4 win at Mars Hill on Wednesday.
