Williamsburg, KY – The third-ranked UC men's lacrosse team netted eight of the final ten goals to erase a five goal deficit and defeat top-ranked Reinhardt 13-12 in their home opener Tuesday night at the UC Lacrosse/Soccer Complex.  The Patriots, playing their first game on the new turf field, had three players record hat tricks.

Cumberlands (2-0; 2-0 AAC) struck first as Caleb Elerick found Dylan Crouch for a goal to give UC a 1-0 lead, just over a minute into the game.  The Patriots extended their lead three minutes later as Henry Quaye fired a laser just inside the pipes for a goal to make it 2-0.  Reinhardt responded with a pair of goals, before Sam Collinson scooped up the ground ball, off a Quaye shot, made an acrobatic move and put it home to give the Patriots a 3-2 edge with 7:24 remaining.  The Eagles netted back-to-back goals to take a 4-3 lead however on the ensuing faceoff Kody Swann scooped the ground ball and pushed it up field for Elerick who netted a goal to even the score at 4-4 after the opening period.

With both teams playing a man-down due to penalties, Crouch put a well-placed shot into the back of the cage to put Cumberlands in front 5-4 with 7:01 remaining in the second quarter.  Reinhardt tied the score less than a minute later and eventually retake the lead on a Gavin Banks man-up goal with 3:02 left.  The Eagles looked to extend their lead but Will Settle saved a Bennett Jarrett shot to keep the score 6-5 at halftime.

Reinhardt (0-1; 0-1 AAC) came out firing in the third quarter scoring four goals in the first 4:09 to extend their lead to 10-4.  The Patriots started to rally as Fogarty connected with Whitten McCune for a goal to cut the deficit to 10-6.  Just over a minute later Crouch found Fogarty for a goal to cut it to 10-7.  Sebastian Calmes won the ensuing faceoff and on the Patriots possession Fogarty return the favor finding Crouch in front of the cage for a goal to make it 10-8 cutting the deficit to two with 2:08 remaining.  Chad Huffman looked to extend Reinhardt's lead however, Settle notched his tenth save of the game to keep the score 10-8 after three.

The Patriots took advantage of an Eagles penalty as Crouch connected with Elerick for a man-up goal with 9:47 remaining making the score 10-9.  Calmes won the ensuing faceoff, one of his nine wins on the night. On the Patriots possession Elerick wrapped around the cage and fired the equalizer past the goalie at the 8:30 mark. The two teams traded goals before Elerick connected with Quaye for the go-ahead goal with 2:31 left.  A minute later, McCune added a pivotal insurance goal as Zane Anderson scored an unassisted goal for the Eagles cutting UC's lead to 13-12 with 1:18 remaining.  Jake Mitchell scooped the ground ball off the faceoff, one of his game-high nine on the night, while the Patriot backline prevented the Eagles from getting a shot off as the Patriots held on to the 13-12 win.
Leading the way for Cumberlands was Crouch, who tallied three goals and three assists, while Elerick and McCune both finished with hat tricks.  Fogarty also dished out three assists and finished with four points, while Quaye netted a pair of goals.

The Patriots back line of Jaret Williamson, Walker Lacey and Bryan Morgan combined for four caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls in the win.  Settle finished the day with 11 saves, including seven in the second quarter.

UC returns to action Sunday, March 3, as they host fourth-ranked Indiana Tech at the UC Lacrosse/Soccer Complex.  The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. with live video available here and live stats here.

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