• Sophomore Asher Nolting led HPU with a career-high five goals.
• Junior Dalton Sulver scored a career-high five points with a career-best four goals.
• Nolting broke the HPU and Southern Conference (SoCon) single-season scoring record with his 65th point of the season.
MACON, Ga. – The High Point University men’s lacrosse team defeated Mercer, 17-16, on Saturday, April 13.
High Point (10-2, 4-1) grabbed 30 ground balls and went 19-20 on clears, while Mercer (1-10, 1-4) had 26 ground balls and went 15-18 on clear attempts. The Panthers posted 15 saves and caused 12 turnovers. Mercer had eight saves and nine caused turnovers.
“Those guys played a great game today,” HPU head coach Jon Torpey said. “I was fortunate enough to work for Kyle Hannan and I think he is one of the best offensive coaches in the country. I thought their guys played extremely hard. We dug our heels in and got the win. It wasn’t pretty, but we’ve got a lot of stuff to work on going into next week as we continue through the conference.”
Sophomore Asher Nolting led the Panthers with a career-high five goals, while junior Dalton Sulver logged a career-high five points with a career-best four goals and one assist. Redshirt senior Chris Young and senior Griff Caligiuri dished out a team-high two assists.
Nolting’s second goal of the game at the 2:18 mark of the second quarter solidified his second-straight 30 goals, 30 assists season. He set the SoCon and HPU single-season scoring record with his third goal of the game and 67th point (31 goals, 36 assists) of the season. This broke Nolting’s record from last season of 66 points (30 goals, 36 assists).
In the third quarter, the Purple & White fell behind 8-10 before HPU went on a 3-0 run to take an 11-10 lead with freshmen Joel Scerbo and Andrew Albertson and sophomore Koby Russell adding goals. Before the quarter closed, Nolting scored his fourth goal of the game, but Mercer ended the quarter on a 2-1 run to tie the game at 12-12 heading into the fourth quarter.
Sulver opened the fourth quarter with his second goal of the game off an assist from Young to give HPU a 13-12 lead. The Bears tied the game at 13-13 then High Point went on a 4-0 run to take a 17-13 lead with 2:56 remaining. Sulver scored his third and fourth goals of the day and Nolting and junior Ricky Koehler each added one during the run. Mercer closed the game with on a 3-0 run, but the Panthers held on to win, 17-16.
HPU trailed 7-8 at halftime with two goals each coming from Nolting and senior Jake Schleppy. Sulver and sophomores Sean Coughlin and Tyler Stinson each added one goal in the first half.
Senior Tim Troutner Jr. led the team in the cage with 15 saves and caused a team-high three turnovers. Young and Troutner Jr. each grabbed a team-high five ground balls.
Up next, the Panthers will travel to Louisville, Ky. to continue SoCon play at Bellarmine on Saturday, April 20. The opening face-off is set for 12 p.m.