Elmhurst, Ill. – The Transylvania men's lacrosse team defeated the Elmhurst University Blue Jays in Illinois on Saturday afternoon, after a huge opening quarter, giving them a lead that they protected for the remainder of the contest.
The game was a tense and physical matchup from the opening draw as both teams tried to get going. Transylvania established possession early but were held off the board, and Elmhurst struck first on the day at the 11:57 mark. AJ Teague dashed down the field and ripped a shot home to tie things up 58 seconds later. The Blue Jays then responded two minutes after Teague's strike, however, the Pioneers unleashed 5 unanswered goals to take command of the game in the opening quarter.
In the five-goal push, Dalton Hubbs had three to complete a hat trick in just the first quarter, as well as tallies from Quinn Fox and Will Warner. With one quarter down, Transy led 6-2.
The teams then traded goals in the second, going back and forth. Andrew Hamill led the way having both Pioneer scores, on assists from Fox and Kayd Aquino. At the midway point the score was 8-5 with Transylvania on top.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Blue Jays jumped out with a strong push and managed to get right back into the game on two straight goals, making it 8-7. Less than a minute after, a Fox goal stopped the run. Transy was not done there as two more, courtesy of Bryce Lowe and another from Hubbs, put the Pioneers in control as the third quarter wore down. After being held off the board for over nine minutes, the Blue Jays broke through with just 8 seconds left in the quarter, to make it an 11-8 game with 15 minutes to go.
In the fourth quarter of a three-goal game, Transylvania went on lockdown mode, content on protecting the lead that they had built in the first, and maintained the rest of the way. Neither team found the back of the net for the first 12 minutes of the fourth. It was the Pioneers who then broke the streak, putting an emphasis on their lead. Hubbs buried his fifth of the day at the 2:51 mark on a feed from Hamill, who then scored himself just 54 seconds later, to make it a 13-8 score. With just 5 seconds left Elmhurst put one in, but the clock ran out to secure a 13-9 victory for the Pioneers.
The win marks the second consecutive year the Pioneers beat Elmhurst, after last year's overtime thrilling win at Pat Deacon Stadium. Transylvania ends a 9-game winning streak from Elmhurst, who averaged 15 goals a game going into Saturday, but were held to 9 in the match.
Senior goaltender Connor Haney was brilliant in net yet again, earning his sixth win of the season after making 13 saves for a save percentage of .591.
The Pioneers are right back in action tomorrow, staying in Illinois to take on Carroll University on Sunday with a 12:00 PM EST scheduled start.
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