GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Sixteen different players scored goals for Lenoir-Rhyne University as the 14th-ranked Bears defeated Tusculum University 22-9 in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action at Pioneer Field Saturday afternoon.
The Bears (6-3, 3-1 SAC) outshot the Pioneers 48-35 and led 9-2 after one quarter and 14-3 at halftime. Tommy Aguilar led the Bears with three goals, four players had two goals apiece and 11 players had one goal apiece for the Bears, who were 3-for-4 with the man advantage and won 22 of the 34 faceoffs in the contest.
Tristan Kirkham and Nate Raymond scored two goals apiece for the Pioneers (7-2, 1-2 SAC), Jordan Daniel had a goal and three assists and Kale Lawrence, Lorenz Brown, Sean Dunn and Nicholas Drennan each had one goal each for the Pioneers, who trailed in ground balls to the Bears by a 39-21 margin and turned the ball over 17 times.
The Bears scored the first three goals in 4 1/2 minutes to take an early lead before Kirkham got Tusculum on the board with 9:55 left in the first quarter. Lenoir-Rhyne went up 5-1 on goals from Will Canata and Aguilar, but Raymond responded with 5:03 remaining in the period as Tusculum trailed 5-2. The Bears would net four more goals in a span of 2 1/2 minutes to go up 9-2 after one period, with Aguilar and Ayden Mowry each scoring twice in the frame.
Lenoir-Rhyne's run reached nine goals as the Bears took a 14-2 lead on a man-up goal from Jackson Price with 3:35 to play in the first half. Tusculum would respond with 36 seconds remaining on a goal from Dunn to pull within 14-3 at halftime. The Bears had a 23-17 edge in shots in the first half, but were 10-for-19 on faceoffs and turned the ball over just six times.
The Bears scored three times in 32 seconds to go up 17-3 early in the third quarter, before Daniel scored with 7:24 left to put the Pioneers on the board in the second half. Two more goals from the Bears in a 29-second span were answered by a man-up goal from Kirkham with 1:02 left in the third quarter as Tusculum trailed 19-5 after three.
Tusculum outscored Lenoir-Rhyne 4-3 in the fourth quarter, as Drennan scored with 13:35 left followed by Brown with 9:30 to play. The Bears' final goal came with 6:08 left, as the Pioneers closed out the scoring on goals from Raymond with 3:45 remaining and from Lawrence with 25 seconds to go.
Andy Michalski led the Pioneers with five ground balls, and went 12-for-33 on faceoffs in the contest. Wesley Phillips had three ground balls for the Pioneers and Brown, Dunn and Daniel had two apiece. For Lenoir-Rhyne, John Paulus went 15-for-23 on faceoffs with 11 ground balls and Macon Sumner was 7-for-11 with four ground balls. Victor Powell had four ground balls to lead the Bears' defense.
Lenoir-Rhyne was 3-for-4 with the extra man, while Tusculum converted on its only man-up opportunity in the match. The Bears were 19-for-23 on clears and Tusculum was 16-for-18, including a perfect 10-for-10 in the second half.
Ross Geiger played the whole match in goal for the Pioneers and finished with 12 saves. For Lenoir-Rhyne, Noah Johnson had 10 saves in the first three quarters, followed by Ian Ellis (one save), Nicco Moriates (two saves) and Cullin Walsh (zero saves) in the fourth quarter.
Tusculum will be home to face Limestone next Saturday, March 26 at 4 p.m. at Pioneer Field. The Saints (6-1, 2-1 SAC), ranked seventh in this week's USILA Division II poll, beat Lincoln Memorial 13-6 on Saturday.
