ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University men's lacrosse team upset third nationally ranked Wingate on Saturday (Mar. 19) by a score of 14-12 at Spero Financial Field.
Anderson entered the match with a record of 6-3, coming off a 15-9 loss at Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday (Mar. 16). Previously, the Trojans were riding a six-game winning streak that included two SAC wins over Lincoln Memorial and Mars Hill.
Wingate jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first period, however, Anderson responded with three of their own as Beau Henson, Peyton Jefferson, and Triston Schafer each scored. Schaffer continued his stellar play in the second period, scoring three more goals to fuel Anderson to an 8-5 advantage at halftime.
Logan Gaddis and Beau Henson scored a pair of goals early in the third period to extend the lead. Anderson showed a lot of resiliency in the period, answering with a goal of their own each time Wingate scored to maintain momentum. Trojans led 13-9 heading into the final fifteen minutes.
In the opening minutes of the fourth period, Hayes Barnett scored a critical goal to extend the Anderson lead to five. Defensively, the Trojans held strong the remainder of the game thanks to a total of 18 saves on the day for goalie Joey Heckel, as they pulled off the upset over Wingate 14-12.
Triston Schaffer led the way for Anderson with five goals, while Beau Henson had three. Mason Gore, Kaleb West, and Tyler Barlan eached caused a turnover, while faceoff specialist Cam Weeks went 22 for 29 in the faceoff, with 12 ground balls.
"A great win for our program," said coach Albert Mitchell. "I am happy for our guys to see the results of our hard work. We played well in every phase of the game. We will enjoy this win, but our focus now turns to Catawba next week."
The Trojans will be back in action on Saturday (Mar. 26) as they will travel to Salisbury, N.C. to take on the Catawba Indians. Opening faceoff is set for 1:00 p.m., with video and live stats available at www.autrojans.com.
