Buena Vista, Va - Despite a chilly and wet afternoon, the Southern Virginia men's lacrosse team emerged victorious over the Pride of Greensboro College, 16-5. The win marked their second victory in conference play, allowing them to leapfrog several teams in the standings.
Similar to their most recent opponent of Brevard, the Knights have had the upper hand in their previous matchups with Greensboro, owning a record of 4-1 historically. Porter Wells appeared ready to produce another victory over the Pride when he wired home the first goal of the game just over a minute in. Peyton Merwin and Clay Haacke would join the fun by scoring two goals each as the Knights jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter.
In a game where each team had their fair share of turnovers and penalties, the Knights were the ones who would make the most of their opportunities. After yet another hat trick from Clay Haacke, Porter Wells extended the advantage to 8-0 by scoring with the extra man advantage. Southern Virginia goalkeeper, Jace Lightfoot, was once again stellar in goal, holding the Pride scoreless through 27 minutes. However, Jameson Doll put the Pride on the board late in the first half to cut their deficit to 8-1.
After a late first half penalty committed by the Knights, the Pride took advantage of sustained pressure in their attacking zone and struck first in the third. Despite the early jump that the goal would provide, that would be the closest they would come to the Knights the rest of the way. Southern Virginia would score 3 consecutive goals, led by Peyton Merwin who completed a hat trick on an absurd inside outside move on the defender.
Davis Grant kept the good times rolling early in the fourth quarter when he roofed home a loose ball to put his team up 14-3. Greensboro did what they could to remain within striking distance, but the Knights managed to put the icing on the cake when River Jackson received a pass from Davis Grant and found himself 1 on 1 with the keeper. Jackson would convert and record his 1st goal of the season as Southern Virginia would dance for one final time.
Jayden Arnold gave his team the upper hand in face-offs once again by going 12-19. Two of the most glaring differences between the two teams were extra man opportunities and clears. The Pride went scoreless on their six extra man opportunities and 13-27 on clears while the Knights converted on all three of their extra man opportunities and were 31-33 on clears.
In their next matchup, the Knights will travel to Raleigh to face the Pacers of William Peace on Monday, April 1st, starting at 1:30 PM.
For the most up-to-date details and information on the team, follow @knight_mlax and visit knightathletics.com for live stats and streaming options.
