Buena Vista, VA - After a much needed week of rest and with first place in the conference up for grabs, the most anticipated game on the Southern Virginia men's lacrosse schedule did not disappoint. Unfortunately for the Knights, a huge second half rally was not enough to take down the first place Falcons of Pfeiffer University in a 16-15 defeat.
On a windy yet beautiful day, the Knights were looking to use the momentum of a four game win streak to topple the defending champions of the USA South. However, it was the Falcons that took early control with the first two goals of the afternoon. The two leading scorers for Southern Virginia, Clay Haacke and Gabe King, wouldn't lay down and combined for three darts from fifteen yards out that found twine, capturing a first quarter lead. Pfeiffer would counter with a goal to knot things at three heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter is where the Falcons made their move, scoring three consecutive times on two different occasions to build themselves a 12-6 lead into the half time break. Porter Wells scored a couple of goals with a man up to keep the Knights afloat.
Preiffer's attack would put the Knights into an even greater hole by scoring the first two goals of the third quarter for an eight goal lead. It took a few minutes, but after a crucial save from Jace Lightfoot and a ground ball scooped up by Jacob Zollinger, the Knights found life when JT Cutrer drew a penalty and took advantage of the delayed call to sling one past the keeper. On the ensuing face off, Jayden Arnold won the ball cleanly and located a wide open Zak Sullivan for their second goal in just five seconds. Pfeiffer would strike just under a minute later, but Arnold scored on another quick scoring effort off of the face off that set a fire in the Knights attack. Wyatt Garrett caused 3 turnovers and combined with Michael Brown to grab 9 ground balls to shut the door on Pfeiffer's attack the rest of the afternoon.
At the start of the fourth, Gabe King was a problem for the Falcons. King took off for three consecutive goals, cutting the deficit to 15-13. Jace Lightfoot stood on his head in goal to allow the Knights a chance to complete the comeback, making two clutch saves before Clay Haacke cut the lead to one. Isaac Finley made an important defensive stand to force the Falcons out of bounds, leaving the Knights on the verge of a tie game. On the following possession, freshman attacker Tyson Mauri made a high rising pass from behind the goal to find Porter Wells, who buried his 4th of the game for a tie score. With what seemed to be an insurmountable deficit to overcome in the third quarter, it all came down to five minutes.
After several changes in possession and with just over two minutes to go with the Knights down a man, fate would not be on the side of Southern Virginia. Mason Tardiff completed a hat trick to give the Falcons a one goal lead and ultimately the victory, 16-15.
The major team statistics between the two teams could not have been much closer. But Southern Virginia had the edge in face offs, 18-15, while also converting on 16 of 19 clear attempts.
Next on the schedule, the Knights will host their final non-conference opponent of the season, Colorado College, at Knights Stadium on Friday, April 19th at 4:00 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.
