GAFFNEY, S.C. --- Limestone University ran off 10 straight goals from the start of the second quarter into the fourth quarter and defeated Tusculum University 16-5 in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at Saints Field.
The 15th-ranked Saints (5-2, 4-2 SAC) outshot the Pioneers (4-3, 1-3 SAC) by a 53-18 margin and won 20 of the 25 faceoffs in the match. Frank Smith led Limestone with four goals and two assists and Chris Erneston added two goals and three assists for the Saints in the win.
Lorenz Brown scored two goals for the Pioneers, with a goal apiece for Sean Dunn, Jordan Daniel and Nate Raymond. Tristan Kirkham dished out a pair of assists as the Pioneers trailed 5-3 after one quarter, then were held without a goal until Brown's second of the game with 3:22 remaining.
Smith and Erneston scored in the first 2 1/2 minutes to give Limestone a quick 2-0 lead, but Dunn scored for a fifth straight game with 11:23 left in the first quarter to put Tusculum on the board. Goals by Owen Consoletti and Jason Thomfohrde extended Limestone's lead to 4-1 with 9:40 to play in the period, but Brown's first of the afternoon brought Tusculum within 4-2 with 7:26 to play. A goal from Consoletti was answered by Daniel with the man advantage as the Pioneers trailed 5-3 after one quarter.
Limestone built on its lead in the second quarter, as man-up goals from Consoletti and Erneston were followed by goals from Jackson Braswell and Smith as the Saints led 9-2 at halftime. The Saints outshot the Pioneers 19-2 in the third quarter, tacking on five goals in the period as Smith scored twice along with Trent Kellner, Mike Carpenter and Jason Madden for a 14-3 Limestone lead after three quarters.
In the fourth, Ethan Stannard scored in the opening minute for the 10th goal in a row from the Saints. Brown broke the drought for the Pioneers with 3:22 left, and an exchange of goals from Braswell and Raymond in the final three minutes set the final score.
Limestone had a 47-26 edge in ground balls in the match, led by faceoff specialist Christopher Parrott who won 20 out of 22 at the dot and collected 11 ground balls. Stannard had five ground balls and two caused turnovers for the Saints, with five ground balls from Consoletti and four apiece from Steve Werner and Lance Olson.
Tusculum's defense was again led by Connor Coleman, who had a team-high four caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls, with two caused turnovers and four ground balls for Tanner Deck. Nick May had three caused turnovers for the Pioneers, who caused 13 of the Saints' 20 turnovers in the match.
Limestone was successful on both of its man-up opportunities, while the Pioneers went 1-for-3 with the extra man. The Saints were a perfect 17-for-17 on clears while Tusculum was 16-for-26 as a team.
Ross Geiger played all 60 minutes in goal for the Pioneers and made 13 saves, while William Baxter had seven saves in 54 1/2 minutes of action. Shawn Howell and Shane O'Leary each played in the final 5 1/2 minutes for the Saints, with each making one save and allowing one goal.
Tusculum will return home to host first-year program Anderson on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Pioneer Field. The Trojans opened the season with a 4-1 record, but have dropped three in a row including an 18-10 loss to Catawba on Saturday.
