By Joshua J. Darling, Sports Information Director
LAGRANGE, Ga. – LaGrange (8-9, 4-4 USA South) rallied from a first half five goal deficit but could not get over the hump as Methodist (7-9, 4-4 USA South) pulled out a 24-16 decision in a USA South Quarterfinal and an NCAA Division III men's lacrosse game on Tuesday, May 2.
Sophomore attackman Andrew Brown (Metairie, La.) got the Panthers on the board at the 10:39 mark before the Monarchs exploded for four goals in a span of 1:59 to take a 4-1 lead with just 6:28 gone by. Tyler Bennett got that run started and Jesse Leyble would find Hunter Vaughan before Bennett added another and RJ Breeden capped the stretch.
Brown then found the back of the net again, this time at 6:56, as he took a pass from sophomore attackman Ryan Comeau (Canton, Ga.) to get within two but it would be short-lived as Ryan Kavounis notched back-to-back goals and Breeden found Jacob Burnette for a 3-0 burst, the last of those capping as a man-up goal with 50 seconds to play.
That surge left it at 7-2 after one and the Panthers would claw their way back over the first three-plus minutes of the second frame. Brown would strike again, this time off a feed from freshman defenseman Wade Young (Acworth, Ga.), and would be followed by sophomore midfielder Holden Samuels (Woodstock, Ga.) finding Comeau at the 11:54 mark.
Those back-to-back scores would be the beginning of a 6-3 run that saw five different scorers propel LaGrange to within one, 10-9, with 1:52 left in the first half. Breeden would then quell that rally with one more score with 45 seconds to go and send the clubs to the break with a two-goal margin.
It would be a sign of things to come, however, as the Monarchs would dominate the third quarter. Following a goal by senior midfielder Klein Woods (Macon, Ga.) at the 13:19 mark, MU barreled their way to six straight goals, three by Mark Chatt with a goal and an assist from Cy Horner.
That extended their lead to 16-9 with 5:57 left in the period but the Panthers would not go away as they scored three of the final five goals to close to 18-12 by the start of the fourth. The teams would alternate the first three goals of that final frame before LC used a pair of scores by freshman attackman Luke Young (Acworth, Ga.) and one by Comeau to fuel a 3-1 burst that cut it to 21-16 with 2:50 to play.
Three straight scores by Methodist, led by a pair from Vaughan, would then make sure that would be as close as they would get as they closed out the 24-16 decision.
Breeden would lead the way for MU with five goals and a pair of assists and Ryan Kavounis finished with five goals, an assist and a caused turnover. Bennett manned the center "X", winning 27-of-44 faceoffs and picking up a game-high 18 groundballs to go with a pair of scores while Chatt had three goals and an assist. Vaughan came away with four scores to cap the top offensive performers and Gabe Russell went the distance in net, allowing 16 goals while making 15 saves to improve to 4-7.
Brown anchored the offense for LaGrange, finishing with four goals and an assist to go with three groundballs while Comeau had three goals and an assist. Young notched three scores on the day and Samuels came away with a goal and a pair of assists. Wade Young led the defense with four caused turnovers and seven groundballs and senior FOGO Jacob Jeffords (Marietta, Ga.) picked up 11 groundballs to go with a score. In goal, senior goalkeeper Isaac Bohrer (Fayetteville, Ga.) played the first 45 minutes, allowing 16 goals and making 13 saves to finish the season at 6-9.
UP NEXT
LaGrange has closed out what was a record-setting 2023 campaign as the team broke the school record for wins in a season with eight, earned the most in-season honors in its history with 10 and made the program's first postseason appearance.
