Three Program Records Fall, Another Mark Matched as Coker Cruises Past Mars Hill

HARTSVILLE, S.C. - Coker University men's lacrosse saw three program records fall and another one matched on Sunday (Mar. 28) as the Cobras cruised past Mars Hill by a score of 27-10.

Coker netted the first two markers of the game 1:22 apart when Cal Gibson scored from Ethan Irizarry 13 seconds in, followed by Andrew Dappen scoring from Joe Venazio less than two minutes in. Gibson followed a Mars Hill goal with his second of the afternoon assisted by Dominic Madlang, before Mars Hill responded with two straight to tie the game 3-3. Irizarry scored unassisted with eight minutes to play in the frame, before the Lions knotted the game back up at four with six and a half minutes to play in the period. Gibson netted his hat trick goal 20 seconds later, before Mars Hill responded with a tying goal with a minute and a half to play in the first. Dappen scored from Matt Murphy 13 seconds later to give Coker the 6-3 lead after one quarter.

The Cobras out-scored the Lions 7-2 in the second, rattling off six in a row through the first nine minutes of the quarter. Dappen got things started 27 seconds into the period, before Gibson scored from Madlang 28 seconds later. Gibson would score the next two Coker goals just over a minute apart, with the first assisted by Caden Gore and the second unassisted to give Coker a 10-5 lead with 12 minutes to play in the second. William Pollok got in on the scoring with nine minutes to play in the period, before Venazio scored from Dappen three minutes later. Mars Hill netted its only two goals of the second in the final three and a half minutes, before Dappen scored from Venazio with 1:12 left in the half to give the Cobras a 13-7 lead at the half.

Coker scored the first three goals of the third quarter to increase its lead to 16-7. Tre Childers scored unassisted less than three minutes in, before Irizarry scored from Timothee and Gibson scored from Madlang 20 seconds apart. After a Mars Hill goal, Gibson scored unassisted followed by Venazio finding the back of the net from Dappen 28 seconds apart. After a Mars Hill goal with less than eight minutes left in the quarter, Coker rattled off five straight goals to finish off the third. Stephen Sperbeck got in on the scoring with seven and a half minutes to play in the quarter, before Venzio scored less than a minute later. Timothee followed with a goal 55 seconds later, before Gibson scored a man-up marker from Venazio with under four minutes to play in the period. Venazio would polish off the third-quarter scoring with a goal from Haskett with under two minutes to play. Coker led 23-9 after three quarters.

Mars Hill started the scoring in the fourth quarter, before Coker scored four straight goals to bring the game to its final score. Back-to-back Gibson goals got the Coker run started, before Murphy scored from Venazio with five minutes to go and Madlang scored from Dappen in the final minute.

The Cobras set a new program record for goals in a single game, passing the mark of 25 goals set back on Feb. 6, 2019 against Chowan. Gibson paced the Cobras with a program-record 11 goals and 11 points, tying Venazio's single-game points record and breaking his single-game goals record. Venazio also recorded eight points on the day with four goals and four assists, while Dappen posted four goals and three assists for seven points. Irizarry scored two goals on the day, while six other Cobras scored goals in the game. Murphy and Haskett each posted two assists in the game, while three others dished out assists in the game. Coker also netted a new single-game ground ball record with 67 ground balls, led by Jason McNeany with 10. Gibson and Ethan Ramsey had seven ground balls each, while Nolan Deberry and Sean Bennett each picked up five. 15 others were active in the ground ball effort on the day. Coker also caused eight turnovers on the day. Chris Hagy picked up the win between the pipes, making 10 saves.

The Cobras are back in action on Tuesday (Mar. 30), hosting No. 4 Lenoir-Rhyne at the Coker Athletic Field. Opening face-off is set for 6:00 p.m., with video and live stats available at www.cokercobras.com.

McDonald's Player of the Game - Cal Gibson