Williamsburg, KY – Justin Darley and Caleb Elerick combined for ten goals to lead the seventh-ranked University of the Cumberlands men's lacrosse team to a 13-9 win over fifth-ranked Aquinas Monday night at James H. Taylor, II Stadium.  With the win the Patriots improve to 4-1, while the Saints fall to 1-1.

Aquinas struck first as Kevin Hieshetter netted an unassisted goal 41 seconds into the first quarter.  The Saints extended their lead to 2-0, before Elerick found Sam Collinson in front of the cage for a goal to cut the deficit to 2-1.  Minutes later, Darley wrapped around the cage for the equalizer with 6:25 remaining in the opening period.  Cumberlands gained their first lead of the contest at the 3:54 mark as Henry Quaye netted an unassisted goal giving UC a 3-2 lead after the first quarter.

Back-to-back goals from Elerick extended the Patriots lead to 5-2 with 9:55 remaining in the second period.  The two teams traded goals before Whitten McCune put a well-placed shot into the back of the cage to give UC a 7-3 advantage with 3:25 remaining.  Aquinas looked to cut into Cumberlands lead but Will Settle made six of his game high 13 saves in the quarter to hold UC a 7-3 lead at the break.

The Patriots continued the momentum into the second half as Nick DiFranco caused a Saints turnover and scooped ground ball led to Quaye finding Darley in front of the net for a goal to extend the lead to 8-3.  Two minutes later, UC won the faceoff after an Aquinas goal and on the ensuing possession Elerick did a backflip shot into the top corner of the cage to make it 9-4 in favor of the Patriots with 11:14 remaining.  The Saints answered with three straight goals to end the quarter cutting the lead to 9-7 heading into the final period.

The two teams traded goal to start the fourth quarter to make it 10-8. The score remained that way until the 4:50 mark when Preston Brooks connected with Darley for a man-up goal to give the Patriots an 11-8 edge.  Darley recorded back-to-back goals to close out the game for the 13-9 final.

Leading the way for the Patriots was Darley with a career-high six goals.  Elerick notched for goals and two assists, while Broks chipped in a pair of assists. 

DiFranco scooped up a game-high ten ground balls to go with a pair of caused turnovers, while Jake Morgan forced four caused turnovers and tallied nine ground balls.  Settle finished with a season-high 13 saves tallying his second double-digit save performance of the season.

The Patriots will return to the field Thursday, March 8, when they host (RV) Lourdes.  The game is slated for 4 p.m. with live video available here, while live stats are available here.

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