Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania men's lacrosse team employed a tremendous second-half performance as the Pioneers picked up a 9-7 victory over the Sewanee Tigers at Pat Deacon Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the Pioneers improve to 3-2 on the season, while the Tigers' record falls to 1-5 overall. 

T.J. Toivonen was spectacular on Saturday, as he led the Pioneers to the thrilling victory. The senior posted a stat line that included two goals, two caused turnovers, and seven groundballs.

The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead over Transylvania less than five minutes into the game. However, the Pioneers responded with a brilliant goal from Toivonen following a strong defensive play by the senior.

Sewanee pushed its lead out to 4-1 late in the opening quarter, but a goal from Dalton Hubbs cut the deficit to 4-2 after one period of play. Hubbs finished the game with two goals, two ground balls, and two caused turnovers.

In the second quarter, the Pioneer defense came to life, limiting the Tigers to just one score on six shot attempts. Goals from Toivonen and Ethan Patton cut the Sewanee lead to 5-4 at the end of the first half.

Following the halftime break, the Pioneers orchestrated a magnificent 15 minutes of play where they outscored the Tigers 3-0. Wednesday hero Trenton Sneed provided two of the goals for Transylvania, who pushed the lead out to 7-5 at the end of the quarter. 

The Pioneers opened the fourth quarter with a pair of scoring strikes from Will Warner and Jacob Miller that pushed the Transylvania lead out to four goals. The Tigers scored twice late in the game, but the Pioneers were able to hold on for the 9-7 victory.

Michael Webb was sensational in net on Saturday, tallying nine saves against just seven goals allowed in the victory.

The Pioneers will be back in action on Wednesday, March 11, when they travel to Hanover, Indiana to open Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play with a matchup against the Hanover College Panthers. The game is set for a 4:00 p.m. start at Alumni Stadium.

For more on Transylvania men's lacrosse, follow @Transy_Lax on Twitter