Cobras Hang on for Thrilling Victory over Montevallo 16-15

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Coker University men's lacrosse team hung on for a thrilling 16-15 victory over Montevallo on Thursday (Mar. 5) in non-conference action.

Coker jumped out to a 2-0 in the first two minutes on goals from Ethan Irizarry and Andrew Dappen, before Montevallo would find the back of the net for the first time just past the five-minute mark. Henry Haskett would score assisted by Dappen with eight minutes to play in the quarter, before Montevallo would get back within one with a goal 10 seconds later. Nicholas Maddox and Haskett assisted by Venazio would score to put the Cobras ahead 5-2, before Montevallo would get back within two with a goal with three and a half minutes to play in the quarter. Matt Murphy would score from Maddox less than a minute later, before Montevallo would score with two and a half minutes to play in the frame to get back within two. Maddox would score the final goal of the first quarter with 43 seconds left as Coker took a 7-4 lead after 15 minutes.

Montevallo struck first less than two minutes into the second, before Irizarry would score his second of the game less than a minute later. Back-to-back goals from the Falcons would get them back within one, before Haskett would score from Kaden Ross at the seven-minute mark. Montevallo would score again with under six minutes to play, before Haskett would score from Dappen less than a minute later to put the Cobras back up by two. Consecutive goals less than a minute apart from Montevallo would tie the game at 10, before Coker would score two straight goals to take a 12-10 lead in the final two minutes of the half. Haskett scored from Murphy with 3:20 to play in the frame, before Venazio scored from Maddox with just over two minutes to play in the period. Montevallo would score the final goal of the half with 1:13 to play, as Coker took a 12-11 lead to the half.

Montevallo scored the first two goals of the second half to take a 13-12 lead, before the Cobras scored the final three goals of the third quarter to take a 15-13 lead to the fourth quarter. Ross scored from Venazio with just over three minutes left, before scoring again unassisted with a minute and a half to go in the period. Murphy would score off an assist from Venazio to beat the buzzer and send the Cobras to the fourth quarter up by two.

Montevallo scored the first goal of the fourth quarter five minutes in to get back within one, before Irizarry completed the hat trick with nine minutes to play to put the Cobras back up by two. The Falcons would get back within one with a goal with two minutes to play, before the Cobras would stand tall defensively to hang on for the victory. 

Haskett paced the Cobras with five goals on the day, while Irizarry netted a hat trick. Murphy, Maddox and Ross each scored twice, while Venazio and Dappen each found the back of the net once in the win. Venazio dished out a team-high three assists in the game, while Maddox and Dappen each contributed two. Murphy, Ross and Haskett also had one assist each on the day. Venazio also became the newest member of Coker's 100-point club in the win, becoming just the sixth player in program history to eclipse the centrury mark and the first since Rylee Marsh (2016-18, 133). Coker totaled 45 ground balls to Montevallo's 32, led by a game-high 14 from Jason McNeany. Dezmon Patten picked up five ground balls on the day, while Venazio had four. Four other Cobras collected three ground balls each, while Maddox and Haskett each scooped up two. Four other Cobras registered one ground ball each in the contest. Coker caused eight turnovers on the afternoon, led by three from Ross. Five other Cobras forced one turnover apiece in the victory. McNeany posted a 26-34 day on faceoffs for the Cobras. Chris Hagy (6-1) stopped 13 shots between the pipes for Coker on the day.

 The Cobras (6-1) return home on Saturday (Mar. 7) to begin South Atlantic Conference play against No. 12/12 Queens (N.C.). Opening faceoff is set for 7:00 p.m. from the Coker Athletic Field, with video and live stats available for the contest at www.cokercobras.com.