Greensboro College Pride Men Strike Late To Top Hilbert

Pride Men Strike Late To Top Hilbert
Courtesy of Wes Gullett, Greensboro College SID

GREENSBORO, N.C.—Victor Mehrtens tallied three goals and added one assist as Greensboro College Men’s Lacrosse earned a Saturday afternoon victory over Hilbert College, 7-6.

Michael Halladay kicked off the scoring for the Pride (6-3) after Greensboro successfully killed off the game’s first penalty. As the Pride cleared the ball, Halladay broke towards the net to put the ball in the back of the cage, beginning Greensboro’s dominant first quarter. The Pride capped their rally throughout the opening period with a goal a piece from Ryan Cole and Andrew Klementz over a 1:14 stretch near the end of the quarter, placing Greensboro with a 4-1 lead.

The Pride took advantage of a Hilbert failed clear late in the second quarter for the period’s only goal. Greensboro scooped up a turnover in their own defensive box and established position inside their offensive box. Mehrtens found Cole in front of the net as the Pride extended their lead to four heading into halftime.

Mehrtens continued Greensboro rally after a scoreless 7:09 to start the third quarter. After a good clear, Spencer Kontoulas found Mehrtens in front of the goal, extending the lead to five.

Hilbert (1-2) began to rally, posting three unanswered goals to close out the quarter, capped by a Joshua Schindler goal off of a feed from Trevor Kuhnlein with five seconds remaining in the period.

Off of a Grant Stockman one-minute penalty in the fourth quarter, Mehrtens took advantage on his second shot attempt during the extra-man opportunity, scoring late in the penalty to give Greensboro a three-goal lead.

After a Pride turnover, Schindler found James Duffy with 24 seconds left in the game to cut the lead to one. The Pride won the final faceoff of the game to secure the win.

Mehrtens added two ground balls to his four-point performance while Ryan Cole (two goals, two assists) was the remaining Pride player to tally four points. Halladay finished with a goal and an assist while accumulating three ground balls and causing three turnovers. Patrick Bell tallied a dominate 13 face-off wins in 17 attempts while scooping up six ground balls.

Schindler and Duffy each finished with two goals and one assist a piece for Hilbert with Duffy tallying three ground balls.

Stephen Tanner (6-3) claimed the win in net for the Pride with four saves while counterpart Joseph Stevenson (1-2) stopped ten shots.

Greensboro out-shot Hilbert, 27-21, while both teams finished two-for-four on extra-man opportunities. The Pride held the edge on clears, finishing 18-for-21 while the Hawks posted a 12-for-21 effort.

“I thought Pat Bell did a great job today for us at the face-off and Vic did a great job between the lines,” Head Coach Mike Foderaro said. “We have a quick turnaround as we hit the road at 6 a.m. tomorrow for our trip to play the University of Dallas.”

The Pride will return to action tomorrow at 3 p.m. in a neutral-site contest with the University of Dallas in Atlanta. For more information on Greensboro College men’s lacrosse, log on to www.greensborocollegesports.com.