MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Birmingham-Southern men's lacrosse team made the most of their opportunity to play #4 seed Rhodes for the second straight week with a dominant 12-6 win in the SAA quarterfinals.
How it happened
Similar to last Friday in Birmingham, Rhodes got off to a quick start with two goals inside the opening three minutes of the quarterfinals. However, the Panthers did not allow the run to continue as they created a 3-0 run of their own to take a 3-2 lead at the end of the opening 15 minutes.
Rhodes scored the opening goal of the second quarter to tie the game at three, but another 3-0 run in less than three minutes gave the Panthers a 6-3 lead with 7:53 remaining in the half. All six of the BSC goals were scored by six different Panthers in the half. The Lynx pulled a goal back at the end of the second period, but BSC went into the break up 6-4 and 30 minutes away from a semifinal bid.
The Lynx came out of the break with a goal inside the opening minute, but the Panthers replied with goals from Cameron Herd and Patton Hunter to regain their three goal cushion. After a stalemate of over five minutes, Rhodes trimmed the deficit to two to set up an exciting final period.
The fourth quarter proved to be all Panthers. Goals from Joey Amatulli, Raymond Fracchia, and two from Cameron Herd stretched the BSC lead to 12-6 to give them a comfortable margin. The Panther defense was also excellent causing five turnovers in a shutout fourth quarter to send the team back to the SAA semifinals.
Game notes
- Cameron Herd led the attack with four goals and five assists
- Cade Marino caused four turnovers and collected three ground balls in defense
- Nathan Pepe recorded 15 saves and allowed only six goals in the win
Records
Birmingham-Southern 10-4 (3-3 SAA), Rhodes 8-8 (2-3 SAA)
Up Next
BSC will play #1 seed Centre in Danville, Ky. for the SAA semifinals on Friday, April 26 at 7:30 EST.
