Fourth Quarter Defensive Stand Propels Cobras Past Sailfish

HARTSVILLE, S.C. - The Coker College men's lacrosse team (3-2) used a fourth quarter defensive stand to propel themselves past the visiting Palm Beach Atlantic University Sailfish 10-9 Saturday (Mar. 3) night at the Coker Athletic Field. Chris Hagy came up with a huge save with 26 seconds remaining in the game to seal the Coker victory.

After a scoreless first quarter from the Cobras, Coker exploded on the offensive end and recorded seven goals to take a 7-4 lead into halftime. The opportunistic Cobras took advantage of their extra-man opportunities by tallying three man-up goals during the frame. Rylee Marsh was a part of all three scores, dishing out three assists to Ethan Irizarry, Matt Murphy, and Denton Wilks. Coker's other four goals in the quarter were scored from Charles Stafford, Irizarry, Murphy, and Marsh.

The second half of action displayed solid defensive play from both squads. Coker and Palm Beach Atlantic exchanged goals in the third quarter and the Cobras took a slim 9-7 lead into the final stanza. Marsh tallied both of Coker's goals in the third quarter.

Nearly halfway through the fourth quarter, the Navy and Gold found the back of the net when Nicholas Maddox shook his defender and scored unassisted to pad Coker's lead to three goals. Palm Beach Atlantic made the game interesting by scoring the next two goals to trail Coker by only one score. As mentioned, with the game on the line, Hagy came up with an impressive save and launched the ball to the opposite end of the field. The Sailfish did retain possession and managed to get a shot off at a bad spot on the field. The shot sailed wide and the Cobras hung on for the victory.

The Navy and Gold were led offensively by Marsh, who recorded a season-high six points off of three goals and three assists. Murphy and Irizarry trailed Marsh with three points from two goals and one assist. Wilks, Stafford, Justin Hopkins, and Maddox all tallied one point each. On the defensive end, the Cobras had impressive performances from DeShaun Ormond, Hopkins, and Cole Theodoropolous. Ormond scooped up four ground balls and caused a team-best four turnovers, while Hopkins led the team in ground balls with five. Theodoropolous hustled for three ground balls and caused two turnovers. In between the pipes, Hagy collected eight saves. As a team, the Cobras finished 3-3 on man-up opportunities.

The Cobras will be back in action on Mar. 10 when they open up South Atlantic Conference play by hosting Lincoln Memorial. Opening faceoff is set for 2 p.m.

McDonald's Player of the Game - Rylee Marsh