ANDERSON, S.C. - Coker University men's lacrosse clinched a South Atlantic Conference tournament berth, while Joe Venazio broke the program's single-season points record in an 18-15 win at Anderson (S.C.) on Saturday (Apr. 17).
Anderson struck first less than four minutes in, before Matt Murphy started a three-goal run for the Cobras with an unassisted goal six minutes in. Henry Haskett scored from Murphy 10 seconds later, before Andrew Dappen scored from Venazio 36 seconds later. With the assist, Venazio recorded is 69th point of the season to break Mike Martiello's single-season record of 68, which he set back in 2016. Anderson got back within one with a goal less than a minute later, before Coker finished the quarter on another three-goal run to take a 6-2 lead to the second. Stephen Sperbeck followed up the Anderson goal with an unassisted goal 39 seconds later, before Cal Gibson scored from Venazio with three minutes to play in the quarter. Sperbeck would score unassisted 43 seconds later for the final goal of the quarter.
Coker continued its scoring run with the first two goals of the second quarter, before Anderson would strike twice to get back within four. Haskett scored less than two minutes into the second, before assisting on Murphy's goal shortly after. Anderson would get two goals as the quarter ticked into its final nine minutes, before Dappen scored from Venazio again with under eight minutes to play in the frame. The Trojans would score the last two goals of the quarter in the final seven minutes, before Coker would take a 9-6 lead to the half.
Jasn McNeany would score unassisted off the opening faceoff of the third quarter, before Anderson got one back just over two minutes later to get back within three. Coker would net the next two goals when Tre Childers scored from Richie Timothee five minutes into the frame, before Haskett would score unassisted a minute later. Back-to-back Trojan goals would get Anderson back within three with eight and a half minutes to play in the frame, before Venazio would score unassisted less than a minute later. Anderson would score with six minutes to play in the quarter, before Coker would finish the quarter on a three-goal run to take a 16-10 lead to the fourth. Childers would score from Gibson with five and a half minutes to play in the frame, before Dominic Madlang scoed an unassisted man-up goal with just over three minutes to play in the quarter. Murphy would score from Venazio for the final goal of the frame with 1:23 left in the period.
Anderson scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter through the first three and a half minutes, before Murphy scored from Haskett six minutes into the period. Anderson would get one back five seconds later, before Coker netted its final goal of the game with under four minutes to play when Gibson scored from Dappen. Anderson scored the final two goals of the game in the final two and a half minutes, but Coker was able to secure the victory and the South Atlantic Conference tournament berth.
Murphy led the Cobras with four goals, while Haskett netted a hat trick and four different Cobras each scored twice. Madlang, Venazio and McNeany each also scored once in the game. Venazio dished out a team-high five assists on the way to a new single-season points record, while Haskett helped on two goals while four others each assisted on one goal in the game. Coker totaled 37 ground balls to Anderson's 23, led by a game-high 11 from McNeany. 12 others helped on the ground ball effort in the game. Coker caused 13 turnovers in the game, led by three from Brandon Blunk. Murphy, Dezmon Patten and Sean Bennett each caused two turnovers in the game, while four other Cobras forced one turnover apiece in the game. Chris Hagy picked up the win between the pipes, making 11 saves.
Coker will travel to No. 19 Limestone for its South Atlantic Conference tournament quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday (Apr. 20) at a time to be determined. Video and live stats for the game will be available at www.cokercobras.com.