Hawks set the pace in second half against William Peace

HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. – The Huntingdon men's lacrosse team remained unbeatnen in the USA South Athletic Conference with a 17-13 win over William Peace on Saturday.

The Hawks played from behind for much of the first half and were tied 8-8 at halftime. Huntingdon trailed by a goal early in the second half but outscored the Pacers 9-4 in the final 28 minutes of the game.

Trailing 9-8 in the third quarter, Huntingdon scored five goals in an 11-minute span to take a 13-9 lead. Mac Puller's goal with 12:29 left in the third quarter tied the game and Miles Stading's goal with 9:13 left in the third made it 10-9 and gave Huntingdon the lead for good.

A little more than a minute after Stading's go-ahead goal, the Hawks scored twice in 12 seconds on goals from Bryce Coates and Seth Howe. Austen Saucier closed the third-quarter scoring for the Hawks to make it 13-9.

But the game was far from decided. William Peace cut Huntingdon's lead to three goals at the end of the third quarter and twice in the fourth quarter. But Huntingdon had an answer each time.

The Hawks scored four goals in the final 13:36 of the game. A goal by Puller made it 14-10 and goals by Zach Barnhill and Jackson Schrampfer made it 16-11. The Pacers cut it to 16-13 in the final three minutes before Saucier ended the scoring with 29 seconds to play.

Puller finished with four goals, one assist and five ground balls and Stading had two goals and an assist. Sam Hitt scored two goals, recorded two assists and eight ground balls and was 22-for-30 on faceoffs.

Adrian Harper finished with two goals and six ground balls and Saucier had two goals and an assist. Coates had one goal and one assist, Barnhill, Schrampfer and Howe each scored one goal and Kendrick Ballard had one assist. Tyler Keiser caused two turnovers.

Goalie Matt Murphy recorded 10 saves and five ground balls and allowed 13 goals.

Records: Huntingdon (7-1, 2-0 USA South); William Peace (2-5, 0-3 USA South)

Coming Up: Huntingdon hosts Greensboro on March 17 at 1 p.m.