Mars Hill, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's lacrosse team extended its South Atlantic Conference record to 2-0 today after defeating Mars Hill College, 8-5. The 19
th ranked Royals now sit at 4-2 on the year, while the Lions fall to 2-3 on the year and 0-2 in the league.
Garrett Sadler and
Reed Murphy led the Royals with two goals apiece, while
JT Thompson,
Griffin Stechmiller,
Jesse Oliver and
Allen Curtiss each scored one goal.
Jonathan Paige led Queens with 11 ground balls after winning 13-of-17 face-offs.
Jimmy McGuinness totaled three caused turnovers, while
Jake Coleman,
Nick Rizzieri,
Zac Bruso,
Sonny Smith and
Jimmy Heaney all tallied two caused turnovers each.
Despite outshooting the Lions, Queens would find themselves trailing majority of today's game. Trailing 2-0 at the close of the first, the Royals would see their first goal of the day at 6:10 in the second when Murphy connected on a shot. His goal would be the only one of the second quarter as the score sat at 2-1 in Mars Hill's favor at the break.
In the third quarter, Queens' offense found it hard to put the ball in the net as Mars Hill took a 5-2 lead with 1:40 on the clock. A goal from Sadler with 58 seconds left in the period would close the gap to two, 5-3, heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
Queens came alive in the fourth quarter scoring five goals to overcome their deficit and take the win. Thompson got the Royals going with 12:49 on the clock and a score from Sadler soon followed to knot the game at 5-5. Oliver scored the go-ahead goal at 10:36, and Queens never looked back as Murphy and Curtiss added more points to the board before the final horn sounded.
Queens outshot Mars Hill, 40-23, putting 18 shots on goal. The Royals also totaled 41 ground balls to the Lions' 34.
Anthony Caruso took the win in goal after recorded six saves.
Alex Lipsky led the Lions with two goals and one assist for three points. Ryan Kearney totaled 10 saves in the cage.
Queens returns to action on Wednesday, March 15 on the road at Brevard College. The game is slated to begin at 6 p.m.
