Tennessee Wesleyan men's lacrosse team had a good start to the TWC Invitational by upsetting 14th ranked Stonehill College on the first day of the Tennessee Wesleyan Invitational.
The Bulldogs came out slow with a 2 to 2 tie in the first quarter; but stepped it up in the second to go on a 4 to 1 run. The Bulldogs didn't let up and cruised to a 11 to 4 win. The Bulldogs were led offensively by Joel Gossner, 4g 2a, Ryan Horvath, 3g, and followed by Blake Harper, 2g, Mark Tortorello, 1g, Victor Black, 1g. Also Brandon Singleton, Brett Harper and Phil Hamilton tallied 1 assist a piece. Defensively they were led in goal by Ryne Owens who had 8 saves on 12 shots, followed by Tyler Willeson, 4 groundballs (gb), Kyle Howell, 3gb, and Steven Duchemin, 3gb. The Bulldogs take 11th rank Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) at 1pm Saturday February 21st.
Also playing on Friday was nationally ranked Davenport University (5th) against SCAD. The final was DU 13 SCAD 9.
DAY TWO
The TWC men's lacrosse team kept their win streak alive while taking on 11th ranked Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).
Jon Lemoine
It was a hard fought, close game all the way up until the end. In the first quarter, it was 2 to 1 SCAD then the Bulldogs came back to take the lead with the halftime score being 4 to 3. The third quarter was all square 6 to 6, but the Bulldogs just dug down and found a little bit more to push them to a 10 to 8 victory. "Penalties hurt us a lot this game but our goalie, John Lemoine, stepped up and had an amazing game by making 40 some odd saves." said head coach Nathan Young "He just played out of his mind." While goaltender John Lemoine had 36 saves on the defensive side of the field, the offensive was lead by Blake Harper, 2g 1a, Andrew Congleton, 2g, and Ryan Horvath, 2g. Scoring their first college career goals were Jared Diaz, 1g, and Chris Eckard, 1g. Also making tallies in the stat book were Brett Harper, 1g, Mark Tortorello, 1g, Joel Gossner, 1a, Brandon Singleton, 5gb, Kyle Howell, 5gb, and Anthony Hunt, 4gb & 11 of 21 at face-offs.
"I am proud of the whole team. They showed a lot of character by never giving up. But this is not enough for me I want to win the championship tomorrow!" The Bulldogs take on another nationally ranked team, 6th Davenport University, tomorrow Sunday, February 22nd at 1pm for the championship of the Tennessee Wesleyan Men's Lacrosse Invitational.
Also playing on Saturday, Davenport University against Stonehill College. The final was DU 16 Stonehill 12.
DAY THREE
Another close game for the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs as they took on nationally ranked 6th Davenport University. The Bulldogs were tied 2 to 2 in the first quarter and fell behind 5 to 4. Then in the third quarter, the Panthers from Davenport started to open up the gap with an 8 to 6 lead and eventually getting the win with an 11 to 8 final score.
"We just let our pride get in the way of the victory." says Coach Nathan Young "We are a young team that caused a lot of immature penalties which ultimately caused our demise. I mean we lead in every category in the stat book but not the one that really mattered, which was the score." Bulldogs making tallies in the stat book were Mark Tortorello, 2g 1a, Andrew Congleton, 1g 2a, Ryan Horvath, 2g, Blake Harper, 1g 1a, Taylor Parker and Brett Harper also had 1 goal apiece.
Also playing on Sunday, SCAD against Stonehill College. The final was SCAD 12 Stonehill 8. The Bulldogs play at home on February 25th at 1 pm against #1 ranked and the defending MCLA D2 National Champions Westminster College.
