MONTEVALLO, Ala. --- The University of Montevallo defeated Tusculum University 26-8 in non-conference men's lacrosse Sunday afternoon.
The 20th-ranked Falcons (2-1) received goals from 18 different players in the victory, led by three goals and three assists from Matthew Boas and three goals and an assist from Morgan Trites. Jackson Klewchuk added three goals and Trevayne Hunter had two goals and four assists for the Falcons, who outshot the Pioneers by a 66-29 margin.
Seven different players scored for the Pioneers (0-3), with two goals from Clay Mendez and a goal and three assists from Wesley Phillips. Also scoring for the Pioneers were Blake Harrison, Chase Penner, Ben Royer, Bryce Grimball and Ben Hobday.
Grimball scored the lone goal of the first quarter for the Pioneers, and Mendez and Hobday recorded man-up goals in the final 3 1/2 minutes of the second quarter as the Pioneers trailed 17-3 at intermission. Penner, Mendez and Harrison connected in the third quarter for Tusculum, with goals from Phillips and Royer in the fourth.
Nolan Ross led the Pioneers with five ground balls along with two caused turnovers, with four ground balls from Grimball and three ground balls and two caused turnovers from Devin Bowen. For Montevallo, Gerry York had 15 faceoff wins and 10 ground balls, with four ground balls and two caused turnovers from both Will Sommer and Luke Hennebaul.
Tusculum was 2-for-4 with the man advantage, while Montevallo was 2-for-3 on extra man opportunities. The Falcons went 24-for-28 on clears and had 64 ground balls, while the Pioneers were 19-for-31 in clears and had 35 ground balls. Montevallo won the faceoff battle by a 32-6 margin, while each team turned the ball over 30 times.
Diego Hopkins played the first half in goal for the Pioneers and made eight saves, with Nick Adams recording nine saves in the second half. Alex Egorshin started in goal for the Falcons and had six saves in 35 minutes, while Carson Brown had six saves in the final 25 minutes.
After playing two games in three days in Alabama, Tusculum next begins its South Atlantic Conference schedule at Catawba on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 1 p.m. The Indians improved their record to 2-1 on Saturday with a 9-7 win at Belmont Abbey.
