West Palm Beach, FL – Five different Patriots found the back of the net, however, it wasn't enough as the fifth-ranked UC men's lacrosse team couldn't overcome a four-goal first quarter deficit as they fell to third-ranked Keiser 12-9 Sunday afternoon.  With the win, the Seahawks improves to 1-0 on the season, while the Patriots move to 1-1.

Christian Vanover led all scorers with four goals, while Thomas Fogarty and Dalton Smith finished with three points apiece.  Dylan Crouch added a goal and an assist in the game.    Chrystian Coleman scooped a team-high six ground balls to go along with a pair of caused turnovers, while Schylar Chapman added four ground balls and two caused turnovers.  Will Settle made 13 saves in the game for the Patriots.

Keiser looked to strike off the opening faceoff, however, Settle came up with a big save on a Cam Provines shot to keep the game scoreless.  The Seahawks jumped up to a 2-0 lead before Fogarty forced a turnover and fired the ball into an empty cage to cut the deficit to 2-1 midway through the first period.  Keiser offensive attack continued resulting in three unanswered goals giving them a 5-1 lead after the opening quarter.

The Patriots looked to cut into the lead in the second quarter as Smith scooped up the rebound, off a Dawson Coltran shot, and found Vanover for the goal cutting the deficit to 5-2.  After Vanover added an unassisted goal, Keiser netted four straight goals to take a 9-3 lead into the break.

UC started to mount a comeback in the third quarter as Vanover put a well-placed shot past the keeper two minutes into the second half.  The two teams traded goals, before UC took advantage of a Seahawk penalty as Fogarty found Coltran cutting in front of the cage for the man-up goal to make it 10-6 with 3:26 remaining.  Two minutes later, Cumberlands found themselves in another man-up situation and this time Smith netted an unassisted goal to cut the Patriots deficit to 10-7. 

Cumberlands found themselves two-man up at the beginning of the fourth quarter, however a pair of saves by Cole George and a stop by Settle kept the score 10-7, two minutes in. A couple minutes later, Keiser netted back-to-back goals to extend their lead to 12-7 with 8:54 remaining.  UC battled back just over a minute later as Caleb Elerick connected with Crouch for a goal.  The score remained that way until the 3:12 mark when Crouch found Fogarty in traffic for the goal to cut the deficit to 12-9.  The Patriots won the ensuing faceoff, however, couldn't get another  shot off before the horn sounded for the 12-9 final.

Cumberlands will return to the field Sunday, February 21, when they return home to host St. Andrews in their home opener.  The game is slated to begin at 2 p.m. with live video available here and live stats 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 and @UC_PatsGameDay, Instagram - @UCPatriots, Youtube – Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.