UTC Gets to .500 With Two Big Wins

Mar. 7, 2014

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's lacrosse team came back from 1st quarter deficits in two consectutive games, pulling out wins against both Mississippi State (11-6) and Alabama (11-10).

Freshman midfielder Brady Dixon opened up the scoring against State off of a fast break. Early penalties by the Mocs and a lack of finishing saw a 2-3 scoreline in favor of the Bulldogs at the end of the quarter. From there, it was all UTC. A flurry of six goals gave the Mocs an 8-4 halftime lead. Two second half man-up goals were all State could muster, as a four goal performance by Calvin Fluhr and a brace for both Luke Turner and Wes Rausch kept a five goal buffer between the teams throughout the night. The victory was the first meeting between the two teams since 2009 to be decided by more than a single goal.

The following day, the Mocs headed to Tuscaloosa to take on MCLA D-I Alabama. The game was one of streaks, as Bama opened up a 3-0 lead in the opening minutes before UTC managed to pull back to a 5-5 halftime stalemate. A 4-0 3rd quarter saw the Tide go up 9-5, setting the stage for a 6-1 4th quarter in favor of the Mocs. Highlights included a goal by defenseman Adam Harbin, goals by all six offensive starters, four assists by Andrew Evans, a hat-trick for Luke Turner, and a last minute game winner by Austin Watters.

Box Scores - Mississippi State, Alabama

The wins move UTC, ranked #24 in the latest NCLL Division 2 Top-25 Poll, up to 3-3 (1-0) heading into spring break. Six games, all at home, remain in the regular season. Memphis and Morehouse are on deck for March 29, while Cincinnati visits on March 30.