NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Piedmont 15, William Peace 3
Records: Piedmont, 11-5; William Peace, 7-8
DEMOREST, Ga. - The Piedmont men's lacrosse team left no doubt in a 15-3 USA South Quarterfinal win over William Peace on Tuesday evening in Demorest.
The win advances the Lions into the semifinals, where they will travel to Misenheimer, North Carolina and face No. 2 seed Southern Virginia this Friday, May 5 at 6 p.m.
While the Pacers were able to strike first at the Walker Athletic Complex, Piedmont quickly struck back and then took over, scoring eight unanswered goals to run away with the victory.
Points leader
BRADY MCGUIRE had another outstanding day, leading the team with five goals on eight shot attempts. After scoring four goals in the regular season matchup between the teams, senior
MICHAEL ANDERSON delivered three goals on Tuesday afternoon, adding one assist on a McGuire goal.
Senior faceoff specialist
CHRIS PANNENBACKER had a solid day, winning 14-of-18 and adding an assist. On the defensive side, the Lions caused 13 turnovers, led by four from standout sophomore
ERIC FEWELL.
The game started off slowly on the offensive end, as the Pacers were the first to find a goal, scoring to lead 1-0 with 10:19 left in the first. However, their lead was short-lived, as the Lions scored less than two minutes later as
JOSH FRALEY found the back of the net to tie it. Then, less than 10 seconds later, Pannenbacker won a faceoff cleanly, found the open field and delivered a quick feed to Anderson, who beat the goalie with what turned out to be the decisive goal.
From there, the Lions delivered a first-half scoring onslaught, leading 6-1 after the first quarter, which was punctuated by a man-down goal as long-stick defenseman
DEZMOND STOLLINGS went coast-to-coast to make it 6-1 Piedmont.
The Lions kept the pedal down and the pressure on in the second quarter, scoring three more times to lead 10-1 before the Pacers scored the final goal of the half.
The second half brought more of the same, with Piedmont's stifling defense holding WPU to just one goal over the final 30 minutes. The duo of McGuire and Anderson traded a pair of goals each as the Lions cruised into the USA South Tournament Semifinals for the fifth consecutive season.
TURNING POINT:
- The Lions scored twice in an eight second span midway through the first quarter to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead and from there, they dominated the Pacers the rest of the way.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- Two-time USA South Player of the Week
BRADY MCGUIRE tied his career high with five goals on the day.
- Anderson added three goals and an assist in the win.
- Fewell (4) and
ANDREW PAGANO (3) combined for seven caused turnovers.
HOW TO FOLLOW:
- To stay up to date on all information regarding Piedmont University Athletics, be sure to visit PiedmontLions.com and connect with the Green and Gold on social media. Follow the Lions on
Twitter: @PiedmontLions,
Instagram: @PiedmontLions, and
Facebook. To follow each Piedmont athletic program on social media, use the Social Media Directory at PiedmontLions.com or
click here.
