Fabien Gutierrez, shown here last season, finished with nine saves and one goal allowed in the first half of Wednesday's 9-4 win over Millsaps.
Fabien Gutierrez, shown here last season, finished with nine saves and one goal allowed in the first half of Wednesday's 9-4 win over Millsaps.

Hawks take down Millsaps for first win of the season

By Chuck Tidmore

Sports Information Assistant

 

JACKSON, Miss. – The Huntingdon men's lacrosse team picked up its first victory of the season with a 9-4 win over Millsaps on Wednesday.

Entering the game, the fourth-year Hawks were 0-3 against the Majors. Millsaps won 10-6 in 2012 and won by a goal in each of the past two meetings (11-10 in 2013 and 16-15 in 2014).

Huntingdon (1-1) set the tone early on Wednesday, scoring three goals in the first quarter. Freshman Kendrick Ballard opened the scoring midway through the first quarter. Brandon Scheele and Davis Dalton also had first-quarter goals to help give the Hawks a 3-0 lead. Brandon Sewell added a goal in the second quarter to give Huntingdon a 4-1 lead at the half.

Sewell, who scored just twelve seconds into the second half, scored three times in less than nine minutes to give the Hawks a 7-1 lead in the third quarter. Sewell finished with four goals, including a man-down goal. He also had five ground balls and was 6-for-12 on faceoffs.

Ballard and Dalton closed the scoring for the Hawks in the fourth quarter. Scheele, Karson Hastings and LaDarius Williams each finished with one assist. Josh Clayton had four caused turnovers.

Fabien Gutierrez, who started the game at goalie, had nine save and one goal allowed in the first half. Kristian Smith played the second half and finished with nine saves and three goals allowed.

"Our commitment to defense was evident today," Huntingdon head coach Andrew Carey said. "I was very pleased with the pressure we applied and our goalkeepers were able to have a great day because of that. We need to build on this defensive effort heading into a big matchup against Goucher."

Huntingdon opens its home schedule on Sunday at noon against Goucher.