GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Lincoln Memorial University defeated Tusculum University 17-10 in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action Wednesday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
Rhodes Conroy and Daniel Pearl each had three goals and two assists for the Railsplitters (6-4, 2-2 SAC) and Gavin Reid finished with three goals and an assist as Lincoln Memorial piled up 46 shots in the first three quarters and 51 for the game.
Wesley Phillips paced the Pioneers (4-7, 0-5 SAC) with three goals and an assist, while Jordan Daniel had two goals and three assists and Sean Dunn added two goals and an assist. Will Cookman, Nate Raymond and Nicholas Drennan also scored for Tusculum, which fired 22 shots at the LMU goal in the fourth quarter after having just 18 shots through three quarters.
Lincoln Memorial opened the scoring just over four minutes into the first quarter on a goal by Reid, and led 4-0 after one period. Tusculum got on the board with 12:50 left in the second quarter on a goal from Phillips, but two goals in 18 seconds by Pearl would put LMU up 6-1 with 12:06 to play. Daniel, Phillips and Cookman scored consecutive goals for the Pioneers in a three-minute span to cut the margin to 6-4 with 6:36 left in the half, but a goal from Francis O'Hara and two from Conroy would give the Railsplitters a 9-4 lead at the break.
The Railsplitters scored four times in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the third quarter, surrounding a goal from Drennan, as Lincoln Memorial led 13-5 with 9:26 to play in the period. Daniel netted his second of the game with 4:38 left in the third and Reid scored his third with 3:46 to go to give LMU a 14-6 lead heading to the fourth.
In the fourth, LMU scored twice in 38 seconds to go ahead 16-6 with 13:13 to play, but from there it was all Tusculum as the Pioneers scored four of the final five goals including two from Dunn.
Phillips led the Pioneers with five ground balls in the match while Nolan Ross had four along with Karson Gregory. Haden Berry was 18-for-25 on faceoffs for Lincoln Memorial and had seven ground balls, while Jordan Sullivan had three caused turnovers, four ground balls and one goal.
The Railsplitters were 2-for-4 with the man advantage, while the Pioneers came up empty on their lone extra-man opportunity of the afternoon. LMU had a 46-33 advantage in ground balls and was 14-for-18 on clears while Tusculum went 16-for-28 on clear attempts.
Riley Semmes tied his season high with 19 saves for the Pioneers, all coming in the first three quarters. For the Railsplitters, Hunter Reinhart finished with 12 saves with nine in the fourth quarter.
The Pioneers host Catawba on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Pioneer Field. The Indians lost their fourth straight on Wednesday night with a 10-9 setback to Coker, which dropped Catawba to 1-8 overall and 1-4 in the SAC.
