LAKELAND, Fla. – The Anderson University men's lacrosse team picked up an impressive 19-15 win over the No.14 nationally ranked Florida Southern Mocs on Friday (Feb. 10).
Anderson entered the match coming off a 32-15 win over Chowan, marking the most goals scored in a game in program history. They continued their momentum in the first quarter of play, jumping to a 7-5 lead with four goals coming from freshman Matthew Rodgers. Florida Southern was able to bounce back in the second period, outscoring the Trojans six to four, including the last three goals and then the first three goals of the third period to take a 14-11 advantage.
Freshmen Radyn Badraun and Ryan Bitterman scored the final two goals of the third quarter to pull the Trojans back to within one score. The story of the fourth quarter was extra-man opportunities, as the Trojans were able to capitalize with four man-up goals in the period. This fueled Anderson to eight unanswered goals from when Florida Southern had taken a 14-11 lead. Thanks to outscoring the Mocs 6-1 in the final period, the Trojans cruised to a 19-15 victory on the road. Anderson finished 10-12 on extra-man opportunities, while Florida Southern was just 2-8.
Matthew Rodgers continued his stellar play by leading the team with eight goals. Logan Gaddis totaled seven points on three goals and four assists. Cam Weeks was effective in the faceoff, winning 26 of his 35 attempts with 14 ground balls and two goals. It was a team effort in goal, as Joey Heckel totaled 7 saves in 29 minutes of action before exiting due to injury. Bryce Cheek had two saves in 28 minutes, while Hunter Klosterman had one save while playing the final 1:38 of action.
"This was a great win for our program," said coach Albert Mitchell. "I am proud of our team's fight and execution in the fourth quarter. Our focus now turns to preparing for Embry-Riddle on Sunday."
The Trojans will look to complete their Florida trip with another win on Sunday (Feb. 12) as they take on Embry-Riddle at 11:00 A.M. Video and live stats can be found at www.autrojans.com.
