Cobras Fall Short in Upset Bid Against No. 13 Falcons

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker College men's lacrosse team dropped a non-conference matchup to the visiting No. 13 nationally-ranked Pfeiffer University Falcons 12-10 on Friday evening (Feb. 26).

The Falcons opened up an early 4-0 lead in the opening 16 minutes of action. Josh Smith put the Cobras on the board with a goal at the 8:25 mark in the second half, cutting the deficit to 4-1. After a goal by Pfeiffer to put them ahead 5-1, Shane Wilson responded two goals of his own, making the score 5-3. The Falcons would close out the first half with one more goal, leaving the score at 6-3 as the team headed to the locker rooms for halftime.

Smith opened the third quarter up with a goal to cut the deficit to two. After nearly seven minutes of scoreless lacrosse by both sides, Mike Martiello netted his first goal of the night to put Coker down by just one (6-5). The Falcons responded with four straight goals to close out the third quarter and to begin the fourth. Down 10-5, the Cobras began to mount their comeback. Coker scored four goals in the a four minute span, all of which were scored or assisted by Martiello, leaving the Cobras down just 10-9 with 5:30 left in the matchup. Pfeiffer would flex its muscles one more time, scoring two goals to go up 12-9. Smith would net one more goal, but it would not be enough as the Falcons took home the 12-10 win.

Martiello finished with three goals and three assists to lead the Coker attack. Smith also had three goals to go along with one assist. Wilson had another multi-goal, scoring two. Rylee Marsh and Adam Zinsmeister rounded things out with one goal each.

The Cobras will have a short break before taking the field on Monday (Feb. 29) to take on the visiting Lynn University Fighting Knights. Opening faceoff is set for 2 p.m.

McDonald's Player of the Game – Mike Martiello