No. 20 Rollins
14 -
9
Mars Hill
MARS HILL, N.C. (February 10, 2017)
- The No. 20 Rollins men's lacrosse team
opened up its 2017 campaign on a high note, defeating Mars Hill for
the first time in program history with a 14-9 win at the Ammons
Family Athletic Center and Meares Stadium on Friday afternoon.
The win opens up the Tars highly anticipated 10th
season with a record of 1-0, while the Lions open up their slate
with a mark of 0-1.
Sophomore Greg
Taicher led the team in points on the afternoon, tallying one
goal and a game high four assists for the Tars to notch a new
career high in points and assists in a game. Justin
Diamond led the team in goals scored, earning a hat trick in
the first game of his senior season. Jack
Vonarb and Clay
Phillips tallied two goals apiece, with Phillips notching a
team second-best four points with two assists, and Vonarb chipping
in an assist of his own for three points on the day. Blake
Buell made his collegiate debut count, tallying a goal and an
assist for two points, which was matched by Nicholas
Schultz. Trey
LaPorta, Andrew
Matthews, Connor
Ashton, and Carson
Buell each scored on goal.
Landon
Salie earned the win in his collegiate debut, making five saves
on 20 shots faced. His counterpart for the Lions, Ryan Kearney,
earned 13 saves as he faced 38 shots from the Tars.
The Lions were led by Connor Fernandes and Alex Lipsky with
three goals each. Fernandes added an assist for a team high four
points. Hunter Maggs earned two goals, followed by Jim Garrett
with one. Dishing out assists were Dima Ferreira and Nathan
Stewart with two each, followed by Josh Bryers with one.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
Rollins
- Trey
LaPorta | 1 goal | 6 ground balls | 20-of-23 on faceoffs
- Justin
Diamond | 3 goals | 2 ground balls
- Greg
Taicher | 1 goal | 4 assists | 1 ground ball
- Andrew
Matthews | 1 goal | 4 ground balls | 1 caused turnover
- Jack
Vonarb | 2 goals | 1 assist | 1 ground ball
- Austin
Jackson | 2 caused turnovers
- Clay
Phillips | 2 goals | 2 assists | 1 ground ball | 1 caused
turnover
Mars Hill
- Dima Ferreira | 2 assists | 1 ground ball | 1 caused
turnover
- Connor Fernandes | 3 goals | 1 assist
- Nathan Stewart | 2 assists | 4 ground balls
- Kyle Dozzi | 3 ground balls | 2 caused turnovers
- Ryan Kearney | 9 ground balls | 13 saves
- Alex Lipsky | 3 goals | 2 ground balls
- Hunter Maggs | 2 goals | 1 ground ball
HIGHLIGHTS AND QUARTER-BY-QUARTER ANALYSIS
First Quarter l Mars Hill
opened up the scoring with a goal by Garrett at the 13:22 mark, but
the Tars answered back with two of their own to take a 2-1 lead
with 9:40 left in the period. Mars Hill knotted the score at 2-2
with 8:05 to play, but the Tars closed out the first quarter with
two straight to close out the period with a 4-2 lead with help from
two assists by Taicher.
Second Quarter l Rollins notched
two more to pull ahead, 6-2, but the Lions broke the streak at the
10:12 mark. The remainder of the period was quiet, with a lone
goal by Matthews at the 8:43 mark. At the end of the half, Rollins
held onto a 7-3 lead thanks to seven different players finding the
back of the net.
Third Quarter l Vonarb opened
the second half with a goal at the 13:15 mark, giving the Tars an
8-3 advantage, but Mars Hill rattled off three straight to pull to
within two, 8-6, with 10:51 to go in the quarter. Both teams
traded blows to set the score at 9-7 in favor of the Tars with 6:59
to go in the quarter, but the Tars sealed the deal on the period
with three straight in less than a minute to close out the third
stanza with a 12-7 advantage.
Fourth Quarter l Rollins netted
the first two of the quarter, pulling ahead by as much as seven,
14-7, with 8:46 to play. Mars Hill closed out the game with two
goals of their own, pulling to within five for the final score of
14-9.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Shots: Rollins 38 | 20 Mars Hill
- Ground Balls: Rollins 40 | 27 Mars Hill
- Face-offs Won: Rollins 24 | 3 Mars Hill
- Saves: Rollins 5 | 13 Mars Hill
- Caused Turnovers: Rollins 8 | 10 Mars Hill
GAME NOTES
- Taicher earned a new career high in points and assists in a
game with five points and four assists.
- Clay
Phillips matched a Rollins career high in points with his two
goals and two assists. Phillips tallied two goals and two assists
in his first season with the Tars in the Sunshine State Conference
Semifinal game against Saint Leo on April 29, 2016.
- Rollins and Mars Hill matched up for the seventh time in
program history on Friday afternoon. The Tars' victory this
afternoon marked the first time in program history Rollins has
defeated Mars Hill, with the Lions holding onto the series
advantage over the Tars, 6-1.
- Rollins has won its last four season openers and 5-5 overall
against opponents in their season-opening games.
- The last time the Tars matched up with the Lions in their
season opener, Mars Hill earned an 11-5 victory over Rollins on
their home turf.
- Head Coach Chris
Lewis is in his second season as Head Coach of the
men's lacrosse team coming of the most successful season in the
Program's history. In his first official season as head coach,
Lewis compiled a record of 10-6.
NEXT UP FOR THE TARS
Rollins returns to action on Sunday, February 12, when they travel
to Young Harris, Ga. to take on the Mountain Lions of Young Harris
College. Game time is set for noon, with links to live coverage
available on RollinsSports.com.
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Rollins
men's lacrosse team, fans can visit RollinsSports.com. Fans can
also stay up-to-date on the latest #TARnation news by following
Rollins Sports on Facebook, Twitter,
and Instagram.
