Pfeiffer Men's Lacrosse Advances to USA South Championship With 20-6 Semifinal Win Over Methodist
Misenheimer, N.C. (May 3, 2024) – The top-seeded Pfeiffer University men's lacrosse team shook off a sluggish first half and had a dominating second half performance, downing the fourth-seeded Methodist Monarchs 20-6 in the semifinals of the USA South Men's Lacrosse Tournament on Thursday afternoon at a hot and humid Lefko-Mills Field.
The Basics
FINAL – Pfeiffer def. Methodist, 20-6
Records
No. 4 Methodist – 9-8
No. 1 Pfeiffer – 10-6
Location – Misenheimer, N.C. – Lefko-Mills Field
HOW IT HAPPENED
Methodist would jump on Pfeiffer early in the first quarter, taking a 1-0 lead at 12:45. Pfeiffer responded with back-to-back scores from
Zach DeFazio at 7:58 and
Trent Orr at 6:15, making it 2-1.
The teams then alternated the next four goals, with Pfeiffer leading 4-3 after a
Khyler Johnson scored at 11:40.
Methodist fought back to take the 5-4 lead at 6:54 of the second quarter before the Falcons responded with three straight scores to take the 7-5 lead into halftime.
After the break, Pfeiffer used a 7-0 spurt in the third quarter to blow the game open. Leading 14-5 entering the fourth quarter, Methodist would score their only goal of the second half at 12:32 of the fourth quarter to draw to 14-6.
Pfeiffer then claimed the next six scores to provide the 20-6 final.
Inside the Box Score
Senior
Zach DeFazio would lead the way once again for Pfeiffer, as he scored five goals and added an assists on the afternoon.
Zach Gignac notched four goals while Tren Orr,
Tyler Finley, and
Quinn Becraft all had two goals apiece in the win.
Davis Russell,
Dylan Bryson and
Mason Tardiff also scored goals for the top-seeded Falcons.
Defensively, Pfeiffer forced 28 Methodist turnovers, with
Matt Scriven and
Nick Pekins each coming away with three caused turnovers. Faceoff specialist
Elias Solano had a team-best five ground balls followed with four ground balls for both Russell and
Tobias Ballester.
Pfeiffer freshman goalkeeper
Oliver Buch earned the win for the Falcons by making four saves on the day.Â
Jason Rowland also saw action between the pipes, making a pair of saves while not allowing a score.
Up Next
The Falcons return to the USA South Tournament Championship game for the fourth straight season and are looking for their third league title when they host No. 2 seeded Piedmont University, who was an 18-13 winner over No;. 3 seeded Southern Virginia, on Saturday, May 4 at Lefko-Mills Field. The start time is scheduled for Noon.
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