GAFFNEY, S.C. --- Third-ranked Limestone University opened the match with a 14-goal run and went on to a 25-8 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse Wednesday afternoon.
The Saints (9-1, 4-0 SAC) outshot the Pioneers (3-6, 0-4 SAC) by a 62-25 margin and had a 45-27 edge in ground balls. Limestone won 26 of the match's 36 faceoffs and forced Tusculum into 24 turnovers.
Zachary Terry led Limestone with five goals, with three goals from Matthew Burt and two goals apiece from Grant Dupree and Grant Rodgers. Thirteen other players had one goal each for the Saints, led by Cayden Onagi who also had three assists.
Luke Bowen finished with two goals and two assists for the Pioneers, with two goals each from Jayden Thomas and Clay Mendez and a goal from both Preston Stewart and Blake Harrison. Ben Royer had two assists for the Pioneers, who outscored the Saints 5-4 in the second half.
Limestone roared to a 14-0 lead after one quarter, outshooting Tusculum 21-2 in the opening period. Terry had four goals in the quarter with three from Burt.
Tusculum got on the board with 13:04 left in the second quarter on a goal by Harrison, and Mendez added a goal with 5:59 remaining in the half. However, Limestone scored five straight before a late goal from Bowen cut the margin to 21-3 at halftime.
With Limestone dipping deeply into its 70-player roster in the second half, Tusculum was able to play even in the second half as Thomas scored twice and Stewart once in the third quarter. The Saints tacked on three goals in the fourth, surrounding goals from Mendez and Bowen in the final nine minutes.
Ezequel Ceant led the Pioneers with seven ground balls, while Jamie Thomson had four ground balls and two caused turnovers. Aiden Lyman had two ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers for the Pioneers. For Limestone, Dylan Cox was 11-for-13 on faceoffs and had eight ground balls, with six ground balls for Kyler Donahue on 10 faceoff victories.
Both teams were 0-for-1 with the extra man, and Tusculum went 21-for-35 on clears while Limestone was 18-for-20 on clear attempts.
Brenden Pecora played the first quarter for the Pioneers and made two saves, followed by Garrett Smith who had 13 saves over the final three periods. Four Limestone keepers, one in each quarter, combined for nine saves in the match.
The Pioneers will play their fourth straight ranked opponent on Saturday when Anderson visits for a 4 p.m. match. The 15th-ranked Trojans moved to 6-2 overall and 3-0 in the SAC with a 25-12 victory at Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday.
