DANVILLE, Va. - Averett University men's lacrosse took down Husson University 11-9 in a thriller on Daly Field at Frank R. Campbell Stadium on Thursday.
Husson (1-3) scored three goals in the opening five minutes of play. Averett (2-6) responded back with senior
Connor Taff's first goal of the season from junior
Brayton Powers at 6:05 in the first quarter. Early in the second quarter freshman Ethan Zach scored to bring Averett within one from Powers, less than two minutes later junior
Dawson Hobbs connected with Powers to tie the game up at 3-3. The Eagles netted a go-ahead goal at 10:25 before the Cougars tied things up at 4-4 from Powers again. Husson scored late in the second half to take a 5-4 lead into the second half.
Averett's defense shined bright in the third quarter as the Cougars allowed zero goals in the third quarter while facing six shots on goal. Sophomore goalie
Cameron Prutzman came up clutch in with six doorstop saves while Averett's offense netted five-straight goals to take a 9-5 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Eagles rallied back in the fourth quarter, scoring four-straight goals to tie things up at 9-9 with just over 6:30 left in the game. The Cougars' man-down defense crew held strong midway through the fourth while being down two player to give Averett a much needed momentum shift. Powers stepped up yet again and connected from sophomore
Emmett Wood to net the Cougars go-ahead goal with just under five minutes to play. Averett added and insurance goal with 1:44 left from Wood assisted by Powers to give the Cougars a two-goal lead. Prutzman delivered a crucial save in the final minute of the game to give Averett the 11-9 win over Husson.
"This is what months and months of sacrifice looks like, day in and day out of going as hard as you can," said
Bryan Habick head men's lacrosse coach. "A hard-fought battle with your teammates, who are the only people who matter. They worked for this one and deserved to win. Even when it was tied back up, our guys locked in and got the job done. We as a staff could not be prouder of this total team effort."
Brayton Powers tallied a career-high seven points in the outing (4G, 3A), and played a part in seven of the Cougars 11 goals while also scooping up a team-high five ground balls.
Emmett Wood had four points (2G, 2A). Zach, Taff and Hobbs each recorded two points. Sophomore
Cameron Shadduck went 7-26 from the faceoff dot. While Prutzman made a season-high 19 saves. Senior
Calvin Beavers had a team-high three caused turnovers while as a team the Cougars had six
Averett is back in action on Saturday when it travels to Methodist University at 1 p.m.
