The Virginia Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team (5-6, 2-2 ODAC) defeated Guilford 16-11 after outscoring them 10-2 in the second half.
George Psaltis led the offense with two goals, and two assists on five shots, with one ground ball.
Patrick Ruffolo recorded three goals, on six shots, and had two ground balls, and
Parker Lucas had one goal and two assists on six shots.
Zack Tucker got the win in net, played all 60 minutes, allowed 11 goals, and made 18 saves.
The first quarter was a fast-paced affair, with both teams exchanging goals rapidly. Virginia Wesleyan struck first, as
Patrick Ruffolo scored at 13:56, assisted by
Liam Murphy, giving them a 1-0 lead. Guilford quickly responded a minute later, tying the game at 1-1. The pace continued to pick up, and Guilford scored three goals to take a 3-1 lead. The Marlins answered back just 21 seconds later with a goal from Sebastien Reynolds scoring an unassisted goal at 8:15, narrowing the gap to 3-2. The back-and-forth continued as Guilford scored at 8:03, to push the lead to 4-2. VWU responded yet again at 7:31, with Ruffolo's second goal, assisted by
Jackson Dinger, making it 4-3. Guilford extended their lead once more, with a goal at the 4:09 mark to make it 5-3. The Marlins pulled within one at 4:02 with an unassisted goal from Jeremiah Madriago, making it 5-4. The Quakers added another goal to give them a 6-4 advantage. However, Virginia Wesleyan's
Daniel Auxier scored in the final seconds of the quarter, at 00:18, cutting the lead to 6-5, heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter saw the Quakers extend their lead as they outscored the Marlins 3-1 to take a 9-6 lead into halftime. VWU started well with a goal from
Liam Murphy who tied the game at 6-6 with a goal at 12:45, assisted by
Jackson Dinger. However, Guilford regained the momentum with three straight goals to go into the break with a 9-6 in favor of Guilford.
The Marlins came out strong in the third quarter.
Ben Andrews started the scoring for Virginia Wesleyan with an unassisted goal at 8:20, cutting the lead to 9-7.
Jackson Dinger added another unassisted goal at 7:57, making it 9-8.
Ben Andrews tied the game at 9-9 with a goal at 7:00, assisted by
George Psaltis. Virginia Wesleyan continued their momentum, taking their first lead of the game at 3:51 when
Daniel Auxier scored, assisted by Psaltis, making it 10-9. Guilford answered with a goal at 2:55 to tie the game at 10-10. The Marlins retook the lead just 30 seconds later at 2:25 with
Patrick Ruffolo's goal, assisted by
Parker Lucas, making it 11-10. With only six seconds remaining in the quarter,
George Psaltis scored an unassisted goal for VWU, extending their lead to 12-10 heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter saw Virginia Wesleyan pull away, with Guilford unable to mount a comeback.
Parker Lucas opened the scoring for the Marlins at 13:40 with an unassisted goal, giving them a 13-10 lead. Cooper Seider added another unassisted goal at 12:57, extending the lead to 14-10. Guilford answered to make it 14-11. However, VWU kept the pressure on, with
George Psaltis scoring an unassisted goal at 7:57 to push the lead to 15-11. The game was sealed with a final goal from Sebastien Reynolds at 3:13, assisted by
Parker Lucas, making it 16-11. The game ended with Virginia Wesleyan taking the victory by a score of 16-11, completing an impressive comeback and strong finish to secure the win.
