The Virginia Wesleyan men's lacrosse team (4-1, 1-0 ODAC) defeated Averett in their first conference game of the 2023 season, 17-3.
The Marlins outshot the Cougars 64-17, with 38 shots on goal compared to the Cougars' nine, VWU was 22-for-24 on clears compared to Averett's 23-for-33, and Virginia Wesleyan won 16 faceoffs compared to the Cougars' seven.
The Cougars got on the board first with an unassisted goal at the 11:22 mark in the first quarter, but the Marlins quickly responded with a goal from
Jackson Dinger to tie the game at 1-1.
Myzaiah Garris broke the tie, scoring at the 7:56 mark to give Virginia Wesleyan s 2-1 lead.
Daniel Auxier scored back-to-back goals to end the first quarter with VWU up 4-1.
Liam Murphy opened the scoring in the second quarter, scoring two goals to give the Marlins a 6-1 lead at the 13:28 mark.
Mark Sprague added to his goal total before Averett scored their second goal to cut the Marlins' lead to 7-2. VWU scored three more goals from Sam Edward,
Jackson Rockhill, and
Mark Sprague before halftime to lead 10-2.
Sprague scored his 18th goal of the season out of the break. Then
Jackson Rockhill scored his tenth goal of the season off an assist from Sprague to give the Marlins a 12-2 lead at the 11:59 mark.
Sam Edwards scored an unassisted goal before the Cougars scored their third goal of the game at 7:27 to bring the score to 13-3. VWU went into the final frame up 15-3.
The Marlins outscored the Cougars 2-0 in the fourth quarter and went on to win 17-3.
Mark Sprague led the team with three goals, two assists for a team-high five points, had two ground balls and one caused turnover,
Jackson Rockhill registered four points off two goals and two assists, and one ground ball, and
Liam Murphy tallied a team-high four goals, with three ground balls, and on caused turnover.
