Williamsburg, KY – The eighth-ranked University of the Cumberlands men's lacrosse team recorded 14 caused turnovers, while Dustin Soper made a career-high nine saves to lead the Patriots to an 11-4 win over Michigan-Dearborn Sunday afternoon at James H. Taylor, II Stadium.  With the win the Patriots improve to 2-1, while the Wolverines fall to 2-1.

Cumberlands opened the game strong outscoring the Wolverines 5-0 in the opening quarter.  Just over a minute into the game Caleb Elerick found Dylan Crouch for a goal to give the Patriots the 1-0 lead.  Kody Swann won the ensuing faceoff and on UC's possession Sam Collinson found Crouch in front of the cage for a one-timer to make it 2-0 with 12:49 left in the first period.  The Patriots took advantage of a Michigan-Dearborn penalty as Preston Brooks found Dalton Smith for a man-up goal to make it 3-0. The Wolverines looked to get on the board but Soper made three stops to keep them scoreless.   Brooks netted back-to-back goals to give Cumberlands a 5-0 edge.    

It was an evenly matched second quarter as both teams backline continued to step up.  Just over six minutes into the period Devon Callaghan scored the unassisted goal to put the Wolverines on the scoreboard.  The score remained that way until the 1:16 mark as Whitten McCune put a well-placed shot into the upper corner for a goal.  Nick DiFranco's ground ball gave the Patriots possession and a Henry Quaye goal with 15 seconds remaining gave UC a 7-1 lead at the break.   

The Patriots strong play continued into the third quarter as McCune connected with Crouch for a goal to give Crouch his first collegiate hat trick.  The teams traded possession until Elerick found Thomas Fogarty in front of the cage for his first collegiate goal to make it 9-1 with 1:47 remaining in the third quarter.  Michigan-Dearborn scored three unanswered goals, before Crouch and Collinson each scored one more time for the 11-4 final.

Cumberlands out shot the Wolverines 49-27 in the game, while scooping up 47 groundballs, and successfully clearing 20 of their 23 attempts.

Leading the way for the Patriots was Crouch who netted four goals, while Collinson added a goal and three assists.  McCune and Brooks each chipped in three points.  Kody Swann went 15-18 on the faceoff with a ground ball.

Soper, making his second career start, made six of his nine saves in the first half.  DiFranco and Jake Morgan both tallied four caused turnovers and ten ground balls.  Jake Mitchell scooped a team-high 11 ground balls, while Bryan Morgan added three caused turnovers.  

The Patriots will return to the field Saturday, March 3, when they host (RV) Point in an AAC matchup.  The game is slated for 5 p.m. with live video available here, while live stats are available here.

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