Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania men's lacrosse team improved to 7-3 on the season with a big win over the Albion College Britons at Pat Deacon Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Two Pioneers had hat tricks in the game, including a five-goal performance, as Transylvania overcame an early deficit to cruise on the afternoon.
Early on the Pioneers fell into a bit of a hole, as they struggled to establish possession. Albion took advantage at the 11:54 mark to go ahead, but despite the ample opportunities on offense, the Transy defense held strong to stay in the game. The Britons scored again seven minutes after their first, as the quarter proved to be a low scoring affair. Just 12 seconds after that, Andrew Hamill got the Pios on the board on an assist from AJ Teague, however, Albion scored again to close out the quarter up 3-1.
With the Britons claiming the early momentum, Transy pushed the right buttons to get going, as Hamill scored three straight goals in an insane span of just 24 seconds. Suddenly the Pioneers had the lead, and as it turned out, wouldn't let it go for the rest of the day. The Britons answered to tie things at 4-4, but from there Transylvania went on a decisive run with 9 unanswered tallies midway through the game.
Will Warner scored a hat trick in the 9-goal run alone, and Kayd Aquino put one home on a slick feed from Tai Stormont. Midway through the second quarter Connor Haney made an unreal save on a 1 on 1 opportunity. The Pioneers, feeling confident with the senior goalie behind them, kept pushing offensively. Bryce Lowe also scored in the second, as the Pioneers led 8-4 at the half.
Warner's third of the game opened the scoring in the second half, and Dylan Mordhorst snuck one into the bottom right corner for Transy's 10th of the day. Quinn Fox got into the action with a goal at the 8:56 mark, and just 53 seconds later the senior assisted on Hamill's fifth. Fox had another assist on Lowe's player up strike, proving to be the final goal of the run, as Transylvania led 13-4.
Albion fought back with three quick goals, but Dalton Hubbs put a stop to it with two of his own, to close out the third quarter with a sizeable 15-7 lead. In the fourth, Albion notched three goals to cut into the deficit at 15-10, as Transylvania worked the clock. Mordhorst buried his second of the day late in the final quarter, and the Pioneers took care of business, protecting the lead and winning the game 16-11.
Senior faceoff midfielder Peyton Bray set a new season high with 14 ground balls, most of anyone in the contest. Andrew Hamill led the way with 5 goals, the second time the sophomore has done so this season. Will Warner finished with a hat trick for the third straight game, and Quinn Fox set a new career high with 4 assists in the game. Goalie Connor Haney takes the win after another strong showing between the pipes.
Up next, the Pioneers travel to Illinois to take on Elmhurst University on Saturday, April 9, kicking off five huge conference games to close out the regular season.
For more information on Transylvania men's lacrosse, follow @Transy_Lax on Twitter.
