ROME, Ga. – Garrett Kilgore (3g, 0a) and Rylee Marsh (3g, 0a) tallied hat tricks to lead the Coker College men's lacrosse team to an 11-7 victory Friday (Mar. 17) evening over Shorter University.

The Cobras built an early 2-0 lead towards the end of the first quarter of play when Garrett Kilgore notched two of his three goals at the 3:11 and 2:05 marks. Shorter responded with 1:12 remaining in the first quarter and the Navy and Gold held a 2-1 lead heading to the second quarter.

Next, it only took 38 seconds in the second quarter for long stick midfielder Austin Holgate to find the back of the cage to extend Coker's lead to 3-1. However, the Hawks responded with two goals of their own to even the score at 3-3. The Cobras finished the second frame of play strong by tallying the final three goals of the first half. Garrett Kilgore, Patrick Timothee, and Vinny Magro earned the final three goals of the half.

Once again, the Cobras wasted little time to score to begin the third quarter when Vinny Magro notched his second goal of the game just 20 seconds in the frame. Defensive midfielder Patrick Timothee joined the Cobra scoring attack with a goal at the 6:08 mark to help Coker build an 8-3 lead over Shorter. The Hawks fought themselves back into the game with three consecutive goals to dwindle the Cobras lead to 8-6.

Next, Rylee Marsh crushed any hope the Hawks had for a comeback with three crucial goals to end regulation. Statistically, Ryan Powell played a pivotal role in the Cobras victory by winning 13 of 21 face offs to give Coker key offensive possessions throughout the game. The Cobras outshot the Hawks 45-38 and won the ground ball battle by earning 27 compared to Shorter's 20.

The Navy and Gold improved to 3-3 overall with Friday night's victory and will be back in action on Sunday (Mar. 19) when they travel to Young Harris for a 3 p.m. game.