SEWANEE, Tenn. - The University of the South men's lacrosse team picked up its seventh straight win by defeating Berry College in Southern Athletic Association (SAA) play, 11-7, Saturday afternoon from historic Hardee McGee Field at Harris Stadium.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Score: Sewanee (10-3, 5-0) 11, Berry (5-6, 1-4) 7
Sewanee Athletics Social Media | Twitter/Instagram: @SewaneeTigers
Men's Lacrosse Social Media | Twitter/Instagram: @SewaneeTigerLax
HOW IT HAPPENED
-A slow start on both ends of the ball, but it was Berry who used a goal by Michael Beirne to make it a 2-1 lead after 15 minutes.
-Sewanee, who took five shots in the first quarter, posted 13 in the second stanza and saw goals by
Phelps Thomas and
Luke Valentine. With 13:07 left in the period, Valentine gave the Tigers the lead, 3-2.
-Thanks to 10 turnovers by the Vikings in the period, the score remained 3-2 in favor of the Purple and White at the halftime whistle.
-The offense came to life for the home standing Tigers to start the third quarter. After a strike by
Davis Gillenwater made it a 4-2 score 48 seconds into the period, the Tigers went on a scoring spree with three straight goals to swell the lead to 7-2.
-Later in the period, after an unnecessary roughness penalty by Berry, Valentine took advantage of the man-up opportunity thanks to a pass by
Zach Crain.
-Leading 9-3 going to the final quarter, Sewanee won 6-of-7 face offs, but the Vikings cut the deficit to four, 11-7, with four minutes to go.
-Sewanee secured its 10th win of the season, the first of the
Nick DiBernardo era, in 2023. Hitting double digits for the first time since 2019, this marks the ninth time in 16 seasons Sewanee has hit 10 wins or better.
-Additionally, Sewanee earned its seventh straight victory on Saturday, matching the second-best streak in program history.
NO. 1 AND NO. 2 TO PLAY FOR ALL THE RIGHTS TO HOST SAA TOURNEY
-With Centre's victory versus Oglethorpe on Saturday, the regular season title will come down to the preseason favorite and winners of the last two regular season championships in Centre College and the reigning SAA Tournament Champions in the University of the South on Saturday, April 15 from Harris Stadium.
-If the Tigers can clinch the victory over the Colonels next weekend, Sewanee will secure the regular season championship and lock up the No. 1 seed, and the team will also host the semifinals and championship of the SAA Tournament at the end of the month.
SEWANEE KEY STATISTICS
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Drew Perun went to work on the face off on Saturday, winning 14-of-22 attempts off of Berry's primary face off player, who entered the game with a 68 face off percentage in league play. Perun also scooped up seven ground balls.
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Luke Valentine led the Tigers attack with four goals, followed by three from
Phelps Thomas.
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Greg Ix (9-3) saved 12 shots for the Tigers in full time
BERRY KEY STATISTICS
-Michael Beirne scored three points on two goals and an assist.
-Rob Maraski saved 15 shots for the Vikings between the pipes.
UP NEXT
The SAA Regular Season Championship is on the line on Saturday when Centre College makes the trek to Domain for Senior Day for a 2 p.m. face off from Harris Stadium.
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