Crusaders defeat Oglethorpe on Tuesday Night to End Skid
ATLANTA, Ga. – The University of Dallas men's lacrosse team halted a three-game losing streak and won for the first time in March on Tuesday in an 11-8 result at Oglethorpe University.
After dropping a neutral site match at Oglethorpe Field two days ago, the Crusaders went up 4-1 through the first quarter. That difference stood up, as these teams matched each other for goals the remainder of the night.
Dallas improved to .500 again at 4-4, while the Petrels fell to 1-5 overall.
An early goal by Joshua McClendon (Redondo Beach, Calif.) put the Crusaders on the board. McClendon only had netted one goal entering the matchup, but had an impact game with his first career hat trick.
J.P. Hasson (Fairfax, Va.) gave UD another goal to make it a 2-0 advantage. Jake Frederick (Coppell, Texas) provided the assist on that play. Tyler Smith (Snoqualmie, Wash.) and Peter Early (San Antonio, Texas) produced the other goals towards the last five minutes of the quarter to complete the highest scoring quarter by either side.
Down two, Oglethorpe responded with its lone goal of the stanza with seven minutes left by Nathaniel Gillespie.
The Crusaders rolled out to a six-goal lead through 10 minutes in the second quarter. McClendon and Smith pounded the scoring shots for Dallas. Smith's second netter on the consecutive makes was assisted by Ben Blessard (Falls Church, Va.).
The final five minutes belonged to the resilient Petrels, who matched a three-goal output to keep it a three-goal margin (7-4) at halftime.
Dwayne Taylor put in an early goal to start the third quarter, but McClendon countered with his third goal at 11:12. Smith, who notched a season-high six points, would tally one of his two assists on that play. Smith then hit the back of the twine on his fourth goal of the match. That counted as his 50th career point.
Gillespie – who finished with a game-high five goals – would rack up three straight by either side to pull the home team within one (9-8) with just under seven to play. Dallas never relinquished the lead, as Smith found Hasson for an immediate answer less than a minute later. Early sealed the triumph with a man-up goal in the final minute.
Christian Lopez (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Ramiro Juarez were the goalkeepers in this outing. Both faced 19 shots, but the Dallas keeper made three more saves with 11 in a complete match.
Dallas was outshot by one (32-31), which included a 14-3 difference in the third quarter. Both sides each had five unsuccessful clears, but the Crusaders were successful five more times at 15-for-20. Oglethorpe won the turnover batter by three (23-20), but it was the visitors that had three fewer committed turnovers in the game-changing first quarter.
Besides Smith and McClendon leading the team in goals, Hasson contributed two goals and assists. Early tallied the remaining pair of goals. Smith has scored in all eight contests, while Hasson's scoring streak improved to seven in a row since the spring opener. Tucker Jameson (Mechanicsville, Md.) ended his six-game stretch with a goal and point.
Bogar Trout III (Tecumseh, Mich.) garnered game-highs in groundballs (4) and caused turnovers (5). The team forced 10 caused turnovers as a unit.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Final | #UDCrusaders WIN! Smith and McClendon combine for 7 scores! Hasson added 4 pts., and a 3-goal difference in the 1st proved to be the difference! | @UDallasMLax #GoUD #UDMLAX pic.twitter.com/ri7OAz1DXj
— UDallas Athletics (@UDallasSports) March 14, 2018
UP NEXT
Dallas wraps up its Spring Break Trip at Piedmont College on Thursday at 8 p.m. (EST). The Crusaders dropped last year's matchup in Irving, 17-2. Trout III netted a goal and Lopez made 26 saves.