NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Piedmont 20, Greensboro 7
Records: Piedmont, 8-7 (6-2 USA South); Greensboro, 12-4 (5-3 USA South)
DEMOREST, Ga. - Piedmont men's lacrosse pulled away from Greensboro and rolled to a 20-7 win in the regular season finale Friday night at the Walker Athletic Complex.
In a game that was tightly contested for the opening 15 minutes, the final 45 belonged to the Lions, who outscored the Pride 14-4 the rest of the way to win by double digits.
One game after delivering a career-best six goals, junior
Noah McGriff put in a career-best nine points, scoring four times while also spreading the wealth with a career-high five assists.
Josh Tamarkin recorded his fourth consecutive hat trick with four goals.
Freshman and the team's goal scoring leader
Grady Eyler added four goals as well while
Nick Winter gave the team four players with hat tricks on the night.
The Lions were rock solid on faceoffs as well, with
John Dieterly winning 20-of-26 to keep the Lions consistently on the offensive end.
Rylan Walker led the way with three caused turnovers while
Mike Eisele made eight saves in goal.
Piedmont raced out to a fast start, as Eyler scored his first of the game in the first minute of action. From there, the action was back-and-forth as Greensboro answered and even led 3-2 for a brief period in the opening quarter.
However, the Lions began to seize control, with a 4-0 scoring run to close out the first 15 minutes, kickstarted by a pair of goals from Eyler and capped by a goal from senior
Zach Avila.
The Pride took advantage of a lengthy man-up opportunity to score twice and make it just a 6-5 Piedmont lead. However, the Lions responded quickly, scoring a pair of man-up goals themselves to lead by three.
Overall, it was a 10-0 run from Piedmont spanning much of the second and third quarters that put the game out of reach before Greensboro cracked the scoreboard again.
The Lions tacked on four more goals in the fourth quarter to close out the victory.
With the win, the Lions will likely take the No. 3 seed for the upcoming USA South Conference Tournament.
TURNING POINT:
- Piedmont used a mid-game 10-0 run to take control of the contest.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- McGriff has tallied 16 total points over his last two games, leading the way with nine on Friday night.
- Tamarkin has four consecutive hat tricks, and has scored at least four goals in three of them.
- Eyler added yet another hat trick, scoring four times.
-
Rylan Walker led the way with three caused turnovers.
- Dieterly was a menace in the faceoff circle, winning 20-of-26.
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.
