MARS HILL, N.C. – The Coker College men's lacrosse team upended the Mars Hill University Lions 11-6 Saturday (Mar. 24) afternoon in South Atlantic Conference action. The Cobras improved to 5-4 overall and 2-2 in SAC play with the victory. 

The Cobras took control of the game right away and dominated the first half of action for an 8-1 lead at half. With 4:54 remaining in the first quarter, Rylee Marsh notched the first score of the contest to give Coker an early lead. The Navy and Gold  tacked on one more goal before the end of the first quarter, when Matt Murphy found Ethan Irizarry for the score. 

Coker wasted little time to begin the second quarter as Charles Stafford found the back of the net just 12 seconds into the quarter. Mars Hill responded seconds later with their first goal of the game. However, the Cobras answered by recording five-straight goals to end the half. Murphy, Andrew Dappen, Marsh, and Irizarry combined for Coker's five goals to end the frame. 

The third quarter of action was well played by both defenses, as both squads could only find the back of the cage once. In the final stanza, Mars Hill began to make a comeback, tallying four unanswered goals to bring the score to 9-6 in Coker's favor. With the momentum beginning to shift, Irizarry scored for Coker with 2:57 remaining, crushing any hopes of a Mars Hill comeback. Marsh tacked on an insurance goal with 1:50 remaining and sealed the Cobra victory. 

Marsh led the Navy and Gold on the offensive end, recording four goals and dishing out one assist. Murphy made significant contributions on the offensive end as well, tallying two goals and adding two assists. Irizarry finished the game with three goals and one assist, while Andrew Dappen recorded one goal and one assist. In the cage, Chris Hagy collected an impressive 12 saves off of 18 shots. 

The Cobras will be back in action on Mar. 31 when they host Queens at 4 p.m.