Franklin Springs, GA – The Emmanuel Men's Lacrosse team hosted Tusculum University this afternoon in a regional contest. The Pioneers got off to a hot start, but the Lions put things together in the second half to earn the 18-14 victory. With the win, the Lions move to 3-2 on the season. 

Tusculum jumped out to an early 2-0 lead to start the 1^st quarter. Jared Weiss got the Lions on the board at the 7:05 mark to make it 2-1, Pioneers. The Pioneers scored to go up 3-1, but the Lions responded with a goal by Griffin Gibson-Thomas with 1:19 to play in the first, assisted by Joshua Fodchuk to make it 3-2.

The Pioneers scored the first two goals of the 2^nd quarter to go up 5-2, but Weiss found the net with 12:51 to play in the 2^nd, assisted by Gibson-Thomas to cut the lead to 5-3. Tusculum added to their lead to go up 6-3, but Gibson-Thomas grabbed his second goal of the game with 8:54 until the break to make it 6-4. The Pioneers scored again to go up 7-4, but the Lions closed out the quarter strong with two goals in the final minute. Fodchuk scored with 0:59 to play to make it 7-5, assisted by Gibson-Thomas and Ryland Laturell made it 7-6 with :39 on the clock. 

The Lions continued their momentum in the 3^rd quarter, with four consecutive goals. Luke Hildebrandt tied things up at 7 with 14:51 to go in the 3^rd, assisted by Tanner Park.  With 12:13 to play, Fodchuk found the net to give the Lions the lead, 8-7 assisted by Gibson-Thomas. A goal by Park at the 11:15 mark made it 9-7, Lions and Laturell grabbed his second goal of the day with 9:57 to go in the 3^rd to put the Lions up 10-7. Tusculum made it 10-8 with 7:03 in the quarter, but the Lions responded with two goals in the final six minutes of play. Laturell scored his third goal with 5:40 on the clock to go up 11-8, and Weiss followed that up with another goal to make it 12-8. 

Tusculum grabbed the first goal of the 4^th quarter to cut the Lions lead to 12-9, but Emmanuel responded with a 4-0 scoring run. Gibson-Thomas got things started with a goal at the 11:27 mark assisted by Laturell to give the Lions a 13-9 lead. Fodchuk followed that up scoring with 11:00 remaining, assisted by Luke Hildebrandt to put the Lions up 14-9. Weiss scored at the 9:42 mark, assisted by Luke Hildebrandt to make it 15-9, then Hildebrandt grabbed a goal with 8:14 to play to put the Lions up 16-9. The Pioneers scored the next three to cut the Lions lead to 16-12, then Weiss scored with 2:58 to play to make it 17-12, Lions. Tusculum grabbed the next two to make it 17-14, but Laturell scored with :27 to play to make the final score 18-14, Lions. 

Jared Weiss led the Lions with 5 goals on the afternoon, while Ryland Laturell added 4. Griffin Gibson-Thomas and Joshua Fodchuk each added 3. Griffin-Thomas led the team in assists with 4 on the day. Grady Magruder ended the day with 9 saves.

Next up, the Lions will host North Greenville University on March 4^th at 4PM. 

For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.