Ettrick, VA -- On Saturday afternoon the Malone University Men's Lacrosse team traveled to Ettrick, Virginia to take on the Virginia State University Trojans.
The Pioneers dominated through and through as they pounded the Trojans by a final score of 23-11.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Final Score: Malone University Pioneers 23 - Virginia State University Trojans 11
- Records: Malone (6-4, 2-0 G-MAC) | Virginia State (1-8)
- Location: Ettrick, Virginia
THE GAME
The streaking Pioneers looked to set the tone early as Captain
Talon Heath scored just 17 seconds into the contest on a feed from
Ramsey Burnard.
Zac Smargiasso started his electric day as he followed suit with a goal of his own to put the Pioneers up 2-0 just 45 seconds into the contest. The Trojans answered with a pair of their own goals to tie things up.
John Mautz III put the Pioneers up for good with his 11th of the season on a feed from Smargiasso. Burnard closed out the quarter with a snipe of his own to put Malone up 4-2 after one.
Smargiasso started the second quarter off with a bang as he sliced through the defense to score his 19th of the year. This was only the beginning of an onslaught that saw the Pioneers net nine goals in the quarter. Mautz III followed suit with his second of the game.
Nolan Winter and
Eli Ciotti each rifled home their first goals of the game. They were followed by Mautz III who brought the lead to 9-2. The Trojans finally stopped the carnage with a goal of their own to bring the deficit to six. Smargiasso,
Luke Ory, and
Kenny Kaiser produced three more Pioneer goals in less than a minute of game time. The Trojans scored again but Ciotti countered as the Pioneers took a 13-4 lead into the locker room.
While the offense was dominant this quarter, it is important to note the defensive masterclass that was put on by the Pioneers. The Pioneers forced five turnovers to the Trojans one. Malone also secured fourteen ground balls to the Trojans six.
Jacob Curtis,
Cameron Brown, Smargiasso, and
Cody Borgert all forced turnovers that led to goals for the offense.
Malone has struggled at times coming out of the half, Smargiasso decided he had enough as he ripped twine twice within the first ninety seconds to stretch the lead to double digits.
Eion Juhas found Heath to bring the score to 16-4. Virginia State showed some resilience as they answered with a pair of their own. Mautz III traded a goal with the Trojans to bring the scoring to 17-7 midway through the quarter. Ory, Burnard, and Winter rattled off a trio of rapid-fire goals to give Malone a twenty-goal game. Virginia State managed to squeak out two more goals to end the quarter facing a 20-9 deficit.
Kaiser started the fourth off with a bang to match a program best with twenty-one goals. Moments later Winter forced a turnover, scooped the ground ball, and then fired a frozen rope to
Gavyn Leach who scored his first career goal, which set a new program record for goals in a game. Kaiser concluded the record-setting day with his third goal, as the Pioneers left Virginia State with a 23-11 victory.
DETAILS
WHAT'S NEXT
Malone will be back at home next Saturday, March 30th, as they host Davis & Elkins College at 1:00 P.M.
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