NEWBERRY – Thanks in large part to a six-goal third quarter, the No. 10 Newberry College men's lacrosse team kept their undefeated streak going and earned a 14-9 victory over No. 6 Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon at Setzler Field.
Scott Reed once again led the Wolves with six goals on seven shots and an assist for seven points.
Ethan Canning and
Mac Ryan scored two goals apiece, and
Curtis Bukta,
Shane Halliwell,
Brock Strong and
Zach Thompson each had one.
Defensively, Strong caused three turnovers and grabbed two ground balls, and
David Squires and
Brian Lake caused two.
Newberry (6-0, 1-0 SAC) took a little while to get the wheels in motion as they fell behind 2-0 five minutes into the game. About five minutes later, Thompson took a pass from
Nathan Pouliot with 5:35 left in the opening quarter and made it a one-goal battle.
UIndy (6-2, 0-0 GLVC) went back up a pair before Reed found the back of the net for the first time with 1:17 to go in the first. The Greyhounds pushed their margin to 4-2 off the ensuing faceoff and took that lead into the second quarter.
Reed completed his hat trick with a pair of goals early in the second stanza to even the game at 4-all by the 11:26 mark, and added No. 4 six minutes later to give the Wolves their first lead, 5-4, which they carried into halftime.
The Greyhounds tied the game at 5 to begin the second half, but that's when Newberry made its move: 5 unanswered goals over a 2:45 stretch doubled up UIndy in a flash.
It started with back-to-back Ryan scores and was followed by a trio of man-advantage goals from Bukta, Canning and Reed who netted his fifth with 6:20 to go in the third. Indianapolis scored two of the next three – Halliwell scored in-between – to bring the Wolves' advantage to 11-7 heading into the fourth and final quarter.
Canning's second of the day broke a six-minute scoring drought with nine minutes to go in the game and put the Wolves back up five, 12-7. Strong rifled home his second of the 2024 campaign with 4:51 left and Reed completed both his and Newberry's scoring to extend the advantage to a game-high seven, 14-7, with four minutes to play.
Goalkeeper
Ryan Erler saved 10 of 19 shots faced (.526) to pick up his sixth win of the season. On faceoffs,
Connor Bates (8/13) and
Colby Rogers (7/14) combined to win 15 of 27. Three of the Wolves' goals came on the man-advantage as mentioned previously, giving them a perfect 24 goals on 24 opportunities this season.
Newberry returns to action this Wednesday (March 13) with a home game versus Wingate at Setzler Field. Faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.