DANVILLE, Va. – With 10 combined goals from the likes of
Emmett Wood and
Brayton Powers, Averett University men's lacrosse survived a late scare from Husson University to win 18-10 on Thursday afternoon.
A close matchup between the squads last spring, the script began to play out similarly as Husson (4-2) took an early 2-0 venture in the first, before Averett's (3-6) gauntlet kicked into gear. The Cougars then scored nearly a goal per minute, with five different players netting their own goals over six minutes of play. Wood, Averett's best offensive threat, was one of the few, raising his tally to 13 on the season. The Cougars turned the game right back in their favor, up 5-2 going into the second quarter.
The Eagles matched their pace in the second period with two more scores, but all rhythm and flow were fully in the home team's favor. A goalie change for Husson mattered little for the Cougars, who began to break away further as the contest went on. Powers completed his hat track with a two-goal period, and along with Wood and
Zachary Hulbert, Averett comfortably led 9-4 at the game's split.
The scales were fully in favor of Averett at this point, as the Eagles could not muster up any momentum for a possible comeback. Hobbs added two more of his own in the third, along with Wood and
Tigran Ceesay to blow the game open to a seven-goal lead for the Cougars, easily outpacing last years' contest. At the turn of periods, Averett led 13-6 going into the penultimate 15 minutes.
While Averett got more contributions, from Powers and Hulbert, the Eagles found an edge late, with a quintuple of netters to make matters interesting heading into the last stretch. Husson only trailed 15-10 with under 10 minutes to play, but the home team silenced any hopes, thanks in part to Wood and Powers. Their three combined goals sealed the deal for Averett, locking up its fourth straight win over the Eagles, and the team's third win of the year, 18-10.
Wood and Powers tied for the game-high in goals, along with Husson's Kiernan Field, with five. Ceesay wrapped up a quality day with four assists, and
Dawson Hobbs not far behind with three.
Giovanni D'Amico paced the backline with four caused turnovers.
Robbie Isenhour finished a quality day at net with 23 saves.
With non-conference games wrapped up, the Cougars head right back into ODAC contests, traveling to Lynchburg, Virginia to battle Randolph College on Wednesday, March 19. Start time is set for 4 p.m.
