Fayetteville, NC - In a matchup that featured two teams looking to extend lengthy winning streaks, the Knights emerged victorious over the Monarchs of Methodist for a key conference victory, 16-8.
Southern Virginia arrived in Fayetteville sporting a three game winning streak, and in an ultra competitive USA South, they needed a win to continue gaining ground on their chief competition in the conference. Methodist, winners of seven straight, is one of those teams and entered the day atop of the league standings.
After staving off an early Monarchs attack, Porter Wells slipped a pass to Zak Sullivan who found the back of the net on the Knights' first shot of the day. The teams traded chances over the next few minutes before Clay Haacke used a nice solo effort to boost his team to a 2-0 lead. The Monarchs finally put themselves on the board and eventually tied the score by taking advantage of two extra man opportunities to leave the first quarter even at two goals apiece.
The floodgates opened offensively in the second quarter as both teams attempted 13 shots and combined for 10 goals. The Knights welcomed Gabe King back into the lineup as he scored three goals in the second quarter. None seemed bigger than his third with 14 seconds left in the first half when he slung one from straight on to find twine. King snatched back the momentum that Methodist had gained with three consecutive goals to that point. Southern Virginia would head into the half time break leading 8-6.
In what would turn out to be a defensive clinic in the second half, the Knights were off and running when Wyatt Garrett picked up a ground ball, stretched the field to Gabe King who found Gannon Liles in stride for a snipe. The goal would set the stage for a dominant third quarter where the Knights outscored the Monarchs 5-1 for a 13-7 lead by the end of it. King continued to distribute the ball well by drawing two defenders and finding a wide open Zak Sullivan who concluded the scoring in the third.
The Knights were on cruise control the rest of the way. Goalkeeper Jace Lightfoot saved his best for last by making 6 saves in the fourth, recording a total of 12 on the day. Peyton Merwin and Clay Haacke completed late hattricks to put the game out of reach and a final score of 16-8. Southern Virginia feasted with the man up, scoring on all three of their opportunities. They also managed to stop six of the Monarchs' eight man up opportunities, a huge difference maker. The Knights also caused 5 turnovers and used stingy defense to take advantage of 29 Monarch turnovers committed during the game.
Looking to keep the hot hand, Southern Virginia returns home for a heavyweight bout with the Pfeiffer University Falcons at Knights Stadium, a rematch of last year's USA South tournament final. Game time is slated for 1:00 PM on Saturday, April 13th.
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