DANVILLE, Ky.- On Wednesday afternoon, Centre men's lacrosse hosted the Pfeiffer Falcons in a repeat of last year's NCAA DIII Men's Lacrosse opening contest. After a back-and-forth challenge, the Colonels fell short in the game's final quarter, falling by a score of 13-12.
Centre men's lacrosse closed their 2024 campaign with a 14-4 overall record, 5-1 in the SAA.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The Colonels dominated the initial frame, blanking the Falcons 4-0 in the opening ten minutes.
Paxton Brown commenced the scoring with a beautiful diving goal on the front side of the Falcons' crease. Minutes later, rookie
Ryan Hall doubled the deficit with an unassisted score. Closing the run,
Ridr Knowlton joined the scoring column with a pair of successive goals, the first a man-up goal with the assist from
David Caldwell, the second assisted by
Miguel Sayers. A Pfeiffer rookie closed the period's scoring, adjusting the board to 4-1 entering period two.
- The Falcons gained momentum in the second quarter, cutting the score deficit in half just 90 seconds in. Centre's
Max Speers answered but Pfeiffer rattled off two back-to-back to come within one point. Knowlton clinched a hat-trick with the next point scored but just after, the Falcons placed three straight shots to take their first lead of the contest. Knowlton closed the first half's scoring to make it a tied game at 7-7 entering the break.
- Out of halftime, Pfeiffer repossessed the lead with a goal 62 seconds in and for the next 11 minutes, neither team would find the back of the net. Caldwell broke the silence with three minutes left to tie it back up. With 16 seconds remaining in the quarter, Knowlton tallied his fifth goal, handing Centre a one-point edge entering the final frame.
- Pfeiffer stormed into the fourth period with three unbroken goals. Centre's
Ben Zickel netted the next, making it a one-point game yet again. For the remainder of the contest, both squads answered one another point for point. Already possessing the one goal lead, the Falcons fended off the Colonels to win by a score of 13-12.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Knowlton led the field in goals with a career high of seven. Zickel, Caldwell, Hall, Speers, and Brown each tallied one goal apiece.
- In goal,
Avi Leffler,
Ramsay Cole, and
Hayden Burns split time. Together the trio stopped 16 shots and led Centre to 20-22 clears.
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Dylan Croft dominated at the face-off, picking up 21 wins of his 30 attempted. Croft led the field in ground balls with eight.
