HARTSVILLE, S.C. – After jumping out to a 6-1 lead after the first quarter, the No. 16 Newberry College men's lacrosse team (9-4, 5-3 South Atlantic Conference) never looked back, routing the host Coker Cobras (7-6, 3-4 SAC) for their fourth straight win, 20-5.
With the win, the Wolves remain the No. 5 seed in the conference with one game remaining in the regular season; the top six teams make the SAC postseason tournament.
Senior
Scott Reed (Ontario, Canada) paced Newberry in Hartsville, netting four goals.
Baker Westmoreland (Charlotte, N.C.) added three more, while
Mac Ryan (Lake Villa, Ill),
Briley Maxwell (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) and
Curtis Bukta (Ontario, Canada) each scored a pair. Seven other Wolves scored a goal apiece:
James Osorio (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.),
Shane Halliwell (Cambridge, Ontario Canada),
Gabriel Squillace (Woodstock, Ga.),
Briac Jones (Houston, Texas),
Miles Jones (Jupiter, FLA.),
Judah Kennedy (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and
Connor Bates (Boiling Springs, S.C.).
Westmoreland got Newberry on the board first a mere 26 seconds into the contest, scoring off a pass from Reed. Maxwell scored his first a few minutes later, the assist credited to Osorio – who tied for the team lead in assists (2) with Reed.
Faceoff specialist Bates then scored directly off the ensuing face off for his fourth goal of the season on the man-up advantage thanks to an illegal body check. Just 12 seconds later, Bukta scored his first of the day to push the Wolves' early advantage to 4-0.
After eight minutes without a score for either side, the Cobras broke through with their first goal of the afternoon with 3:17 left in the first. Westmoreland's second goal a minute later followed by Bukta's second put the Wolves ahead 6-1 after one.
Reed continued the positive momentum from the first quarter, finding the back of the net with an unassisted goal for his first of the game less than a minute into the second. Yet another lengthy dry spell followed – this one spanning 7 minutes and 30 seconds – before
Adrian Channell (Ontario, Canada) found Ryan for his first of two goals for an 8-1 lead.
Coker scored two goals over the final 6:33 of the first half to bring the Newberry margin to 8-3 after 30 minutes.
A five-goal third quarter – including three in a row from Reed – increased the Wolves' lead to 13-3 heading into the final quarter. Three more goals at the start of the fourth, eight straight in total, scored by
Miles Jones, Ryan and
Briac Jones gave Newberry its largest lead of the afternoon at 16-3;
Briac Jones' goal was the first of his collegiate career.
The Cobras scored two of the next three goals before the Wolves finished the game off with three straight scores for the final tally. Freshmen Squillace and Kennedy accounted for two of those goals, their first collegiate goals, with a man-up goal from Maxwell sandwiched between.
Reed's hat trick was his team-best sixth of the season, and Westmoreland registered his fifth. Goalie
Ryan Erler (Smithtown, N.Y.) earned his fourth consecutive win.
As a team, the Wolves outshot the Cobras 49-30, grabbed 11 more ground balls (26-15), and controlled the faceoffs 21-8 in an all-around dominant performance.
Newberry stays on the road for its final regular-season contest this Saturday in Greeneville, Tennessee, against Tusculum. The game is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
