Hartsville, SC - The Coker University Men's Lacrosse Team took down Tusculum in a heated match-up on Sunday afternoon (March 11th). 

Cal Gibson, a senior out of Williamstown, Australia, started off the Cobras in their scoring drive in the first eight minutes of the game. Elijah Utz quickly following his lead, scored his first goal of the game with three minutes left in the first quarter, a behind the back shot to increase the Cobras momentum by tenfold. The Cobras entered the second quarter with a lead of 2-0, but that wouldn't last long as Sean Moran claimed his first of the game to put Coker up 3-0. Zyaire Marshall, adding his name to the list of scorers against Tusculum, put the Cobras up by four with a shot clock buzzer beater. It wasn't until the final 30 seconds of the second quarter that Will Cookman pulled out Tusculum's first goal of the game. The teams would enter halftime with a score of 4-1, Coker leading by three. 

Soon after the start of the third quarter, Will Cookman earned his second goal of the game and take the Cobras lead down to two. The Pioneers were able to slowly climb their way back into reaching distance of the Cobras as Tristan Kirkham scored his first goal of the game in a man-up opportunity, the score now at 4-3. Ending the third quarter, Cal Gibson took his second goal in the last two and a half minutes to put Coker up by two. Once again, the Cobras started the fourth quarter off hot with a goal from Justin Beighey (assisted by Augie Ford), taking their lead up to three. Tusculum was able to land two more goals in the back of the cage, but Justin Beighey ended the Cobras on a positive note with a goal in the final four seconds. Coker sealed the game with a score of 7-5.

Throughout the game, Coker went 6-15 on face-offs and 21-22 on clears. The Cobras also collected 19 ground balls, Nate Allan claiming 10 of those. Cal Gibson registered 10 shots on goal, followed by Ryan Zyaire Marshall with seven and Justin Beighey with six. Michael Jensen also led with two caused turnovers. 

Ethan Hofert played in between the pipes for the entirety of the 60 minute game. Hofert registered 15 saves out of 20 shots on goal. Hofert now takes his record to 4-3. 

The Cobras will be returning to the field on Saturday (March 18th) against Mars Hill. The first face off is set for 1:00 PM in Hartsville, SC. Live streaming and stats will be available at www.cokercobras.com