West Palm Beach, FL – The third-ranked UC men's lacrosse team scored the final three goals, including Preston Brooks game-winner, to defeat fifth-ranked Keiser 8-7 Wednesday night.  With the win the Patriots improve to 5-1, while Keiser falls to 2-3 on the season.

Keiser struck first netting back-to-back goals in the first four minutes to take a 2-0 lead.  The Patriots responded as Dylan Crouch put a well-placed shot into the cage to cut the deficit to 2-1.  A minute later, Nick DiFranco caused a Seahawk turnover, Jake Mitchell scooped the ground ball, and on the ensuing possession Anthony Gray found Dalton Smith for a goal to even the score at 2-2 with 4:43 remaining.  Keiser add two unanswered goals to take a 4-2 lead after the first quarter.

The Patriots defense picked up their intensity in the second quarter limiting Keiser to one shot on goal, which was saved, and forcing ten turnovers.  The defense also sparked UC's offense as another DiFranco caused turnover led to a Patriot goal, this time by Whitten McCune to cut the deficit to 4-3 with 7:57 remaining.  UC took advantage of a Keiser penalty as Sam Collinson found Smith cutting towards the cage for a man-up goal to make it 4-4 with 6:23 left in the first half.  Both teams looked to take the lead, however both goalies made saves keeping the score even at the break.

Just over four minutes into the third quarter Brooks recorded an unassisted goal to give Cumberlands its first lead of the game, 5-4. Keiser responded with three straight goals, over an 11-minute span, to take a 7-5 lead with 11:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The Patriots rallied as Kody Swann won the ensuing faceoff and on the possession Mitchell found Justin Darley for a goal 14 seconds later.  After a Will Settle save, Darley converted the equalizer to tie the game 7-7 with 9:15 remaining.  Settle added two more saves before Smith connected with Brooks for the go-ahead goal with 3:55 left in the fourth quarter.  UC's defense didn't allow Keiser to get a shot on goal over the final four minutes for the 8-7 final.

Smith led the way with two goals and an assist, while Darley and Brooks finished with a pair of goals each.  DiFranco recorded four caused turnovers and scooped six ground balls, while Settle made 11 saves and recorded six ground balls.  Sebastian Calmes went 8-10 on faceoffs and Mitchell chipped in four ground balls and an assist.

The Patriots return to the field tomorrow to face (RV) Lawrence Tech in West Palm Beach. The game is slated for 3 p.m. with live video available here.

For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter - @UC_Patriots, Instagram - @UCPatriots, SnapChat - @UC_Patriots, YouTube – Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.