HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker men's lacrosse team suffered an 18-10 loss to the Florida Tech Panthers on Monday (Feb. 17) in men's collegiate lacrosse action.
John Bretton scored a career-high four goals to lead Coker, while Ryan Maurer registered a team-high five points on two goals and three assists. Rounding out the offense for the Navy and Yellow was Timothy Smith with two goals and an assist, Mike Martiello with a goal and two assists and Shane Wilson with one goal.
Leading Coker defensively was John Elliott and Tim Ryan. Elliott caused five turnovers and scooped up seven ground balls, while Ryan made 13 saves between the pipes.
The Panthers would waste little time taking control of the contest as they scored the game's first five goals. The Cobras would use two unanswered goals by Bretton and Wilson to bring them within three with 3:42 left in the first period. Both teams would trade goals to close the period with Florida Tech holding a 6-3 advantage. The second period would be dominated by the Cobras, who gave up only two goals while netting four scores of their own in the period. The stellar defensive performance would send Coker into the break trailing 8-7.
Florida Tech's offense would prove to be too much for the Cobras in the third period, as they utilized their second five-goal run of the game to open up a six-goal lead over Coker. A Bretton goal would make it 13-8, but the Panthers would tag on another goal to make it 14-8 heading into the fourth period. The final period would produce only two goals for the Navy and Yellow, while the Panthers would add four more tallies to secure an 18-10 win.
The Cobras will take a break become hitting the field again on February 26th when they host the Bulldogs of Wingate University. The game is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. start at Byerly Park.
McDonald's Player of the Game – John Bretton
Release written by Coker sports information graduate assistant Sharod Williams '13.
