ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University Trojans men's lacrosse team picked up the first win in program history on Saturday (Feb. 13) by defeating the University of Montevallo Falcons 14-13 in overtime.
The Trojans jumped off to an early 3-2 lead after the first period of play thanks to goals by Isaiah Hines, Beau Henson, and Garrett Hawkins. Anderson continued their success into the second period by scoring the first five goals to grow the lead to 8-2. Freshman Kaleb West led the Trojan run by scoring three goals. Garrett Hawkins, Cam Weeks, and Nick Calabrese scored as well to send the Trojans into halftime with a 9-5 advantage.
"I'm very proud of the energy we came out with today," said coach Albert Mitchell. "All 27 members of this team fought hard and competed until the end."
After Logan Gaddis scored in the first minute of the third period to make the lead 10-5, the Falcons scored five unanswered goals on their way to eventually tying the game at 11-11. Kaleb West's third score of the day gave the lead back to Anderson 12 to 11 going into the final 15 minutes.
It was an intense fourth period of play as both teams stepped up on defense. Goalie Sean Ring made a few critical saves for the Trojans to keep them in the game, finishing with 21 saves on the day. A Montevallo goal scored with three minutes remaining forced overtime with the score deadlocked at 13.
Within the first minute of overtime, junior Ryley Zopfi escaped the Falcons' defense and clinched the game for the Trojans by scoring his first goal of the day, giving Anderson the first win in program history.
"This was a great all-around team win," said Mitchell. "We were strong up the middle with our goalie and faceoff play. A lot of guys stepped up today and contributed to the win."
Freshman Cam Weeks was a force in the faceoff circle, winning 26 of his 30 attempts. The Trojans converted on nine of their 12 clear attempts and finished with a total of 42 ground balls.
The Trojans will look to make it two wins in a row on Wednesday (Feb. 17) as they play host to Alabama Huntsville. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m., with video and live stats available at www.autrojans.com.
