EMORY, Va. – History was made Sunday afternoon as the Emory & Henry University Men's Lacrosse Team (1-0) earned the first win in program history, defeating Davis & Elkins (0-1) in non-conference play. The Wasps overcame a 3-2 halftime deficit, scoring seven fourth-quarter goals on their way to the 11-7 victory.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Emory & Henry 11, Davis & Elkins 7
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia
VENUE – Food City Sports Complex
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (1-0, 0-0 SAC); Davis & Elkins (0-1, 0-0 GMAC)
How It Happened
- Davis & Elkins tallied the lone goal of the opening quarter, striking with just under two minutes left to take a 1-0 lead. After another Senators' goal made it 2-0, E&H broke through on the scoreboard. Freshman attack Gavin Starling (McKinney, Texas) took a pass from fellow freshman attack Dany Nguyen (Forest, Va.) and beat the D&E goalie for his first collegiate goal to trim the deficit to 2-1. Starling struck again just seven seconds later when sophomore faceoff Jaxon Blackshear (Hedgesville, W.Va.) won the duel at the dot, scooped up the loose ball and dished to Starling who buried a shot to knot the score at 2-2. Davis & Elkins would score with 1:38 left in the half to take a narrow 3-2 lead into the halftime break.
- Neither squad could find the back of the net over the first six and a half minutes of the third, but E&H finally found paydirt with 8:23 left. Starling found junior attack Jacob Mills (Culpeper, Va.), who slotted a shot home to tie the game once more at 3-3. Sophomore midfielder David Mewes (Greenville, S.C.) gave the Wasps their first lead of the contest with just 43 ticks remaining in the third as he recorded an unassisted goal to run the score to 4-3.
- Starling and Nguyen scored back-to-back to start the fourth quarter, pushing the E&H lead out to 6-3. The Senators would not go quietly however, recording three consecutive goals to level things at 6-6 with eight minutes left. Mills pushed the Wasps back ahead on a helper from Starling and sophomore midfielder Gabe Carter (Kingsport, Tenn.) registered his first goal of the game to make it 8-6. Mewes scored on an assist with 6:10 on the clock on an assist from Nguyen and the Wasps held a commanding 9-6 advantage. D&E would get a goal back, but Nguyen and Mills put away two more scores to seal the historic win for Emory & Henry.
Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Starling paced the Wasps as he went for a hat trick of goals and a trio of assists on eight shots, seven on goal, while scooping up a ground ball in his first collegiate game. Mills finished with a trio of goals on eight shots, while collecting three ground balls.
- Nguyen finished with two goals, two assists and a pair of ground balls while Mewes had a brace of goals on 10 shots, four ground balls and a caused turnover. Blackshear was 16-for-21 at the faceoff dot, collecting a game-high 12 ground balls and adding one assist.
- Freshman goalie A.J. Cakir (McKinney, Texas) made eight saves in goal to earn his first career win. Sophomore Mason Buttery (Carmel, Ind.) recorded a trio of stops in relief in the second half.
Davis & Elkins Individual Leaders
- Devon Garcia led the Senators with four goals on 11 shots, three ground balls and a caused turnover. Xzavier Jankowiak, Karsen Kronen and JayC Morlog all finished with one goal each.
- Avery Linthicum kept the Senators in the contest, tallying a massive 18 saves in net.
Up Next
- Emory & Henry is on the road next Friday, February 13 when they travel to take on the Mountain Lions of Young Harris College. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. from Young Harris, Georgia.
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