MACON, Georgia – The Cleveland State University men's lacrosse team opened up its 2021 campaign on Sunday with a 10-9 loss against Mercer at Five Star Stadium in Macon, Georgia.
Sunday's contest (Feb. 28) marked the latest season-opening match in program history.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"'I'm extremely proud of the effort and energy today. A lot of guys had their first real game experience today and they played great. Kevin Sobey was excellent in goal (17 saves, 63%) in his first career start; Brendan Sigurdson had 4 points (3,1) and Evan Moskwa was over 50% (8-15) facing off against one of the best in the country. As always, we'll go back and see where we need to improve but it felt good to see our guys out there today. Credit to Mercer for making one more play - we'll respond as we always do." – Head Coach Andy German
THE GAME
Mercer hopped on the board first, scoring the game's first two goals at the 14:27 and 13:11 mark in the opening quarter.
Cleveland State responded by scoring two goals less than a minute apart to tie the game 2-2. Senior Jason Sullivan scored first for the Green and White with 12:05 left to play in the first quarter, before Brendan Sigurdson netted his first goal of the game (11:07).
Each team would then bounce goals back-and-forth off of each other, with Mercer scoring the final goal of the opening quarter to lead 5-4.
Derek Radke notched a goal at the 5:18 mark of the first quarter, assisted by Sigurdson. Sigurdson, a sophomore from Milford, Ohio, recorded his second goal of the quarter with 1:13 on the clock.
After combining for nine goals in the first 15 minutes, each team tallied two goals in the second quarter of play.
With 5:05 left to play in the opening half, Stephen Masi found the back of the net, tying the game 5-5. Sigurdson gave Cleveland State its first lead of the game, 6-5, at the 2:45 mark, recording his third goal of the match. The three goals scored marks the first hat trick in the sophomore's young career.
Mercer scored the final two goals of the half, leading 7-6 at the intermission of Sunday's tilt.
Cleveland State would strike first in the third quarter behind a Tristan Hanna goal, assisted by Radke, at the 10:02 mark. Mercer responded by scoring the next two goals, before Dylan Warner found the back of the net with 2:47 left to play in the quarter.
Nick Polydoras netted a goal 70 seconds later for the Vikes, tying the game at 9-9 heading into the final quarter of action.
Mercer scored the lone goal in the final quarter to take a 10-9 victory.
UP NEXT
The Vikings will head to Bellarmine on Saturday, March 13 at 12 p.m.
