The No. 4-ranked Lindenwood men's lacrosse team prevailed to a 10-9 comeback-win over North Greenville on the road on Thursday. It was the Lions' fifth victory in a row.
The Lions were put to the test throughout the first half, but they had an answer. In the first quarter,
Kevin Eskridge and
Leonard Jones headlined the scoring for the Lions as Jones' two goals and Eskridge's one delivered the Lions a 3-1 lead. However, the Crusaders responded with three straight goals to conclude the quarter with the lead.
Andrew Hasz began the second quarter with a goal of his own to tie the game up, but the Crusaders retaliated with two more goals to take a 6-4 lead with 4:31 remaining. Eskridge and
Josh Coons buffered up the Lion offense in response as they each tallied a goal to tie the game up. Just before the half ended though, the Crusaders found the back of the net with 47 seconds left to once again take a one-score lead.
The Crusaders carried over more pressure on the Lions in the third quarter by extending their lead to as much as three goals. However, Coons managed to jumpstart momentum before the quarter ended, scoring a goal off a pass from
Max Troha with 3:28 left.
Then the Lions put their feet on the gas during their most productive quarter of the season. The Lions collected three crucial goals thanks to
Sean Darroch,
Kyle Lee, and Eskridge to ice their seventh win of the season. In the fourth quarter, the Lions have dominated their opponents by a 40-5 margin.
Although he was tested more in this game,
Tyler Schermann still converted 50 percent of his face offs for the seventh time this season.
Gabe Monteleone demonstrated stout defense as he forced a season-high three turnovers for the Lions.
After the victory, the Lions improve to 7-1 on the season. They will travel to No. 2-ranked Limestone for a mega-game on Saturday starting at 11 am CT.