Williamsburg, KY – Christian Vanover paced the offense, while Will Settle anchored the defense as the fourth-ranked Cumberlands men's lacrosse team defeated Michigan Dearborn 15-5 Monday night at the UC Lacrosse Complex.  With the win, the Patriots improve to 3-0 on the season, while the Wolverines move to 0-4.

Vanover netted a season-high four goals, two assists, and two caused turnovers in the game, while Dawson Coltran added four points.  Nick Kava recorded his first career as Thomas Fogarty and Dylan Crouch chipped in three points apiece.

Cumberlands defense was anchored by Settle, who made a season-high 13 saves along with a trio of caused turnovers.  Nik Kubik had a strong performance on the faceoff going 15-22 with a game-high ten ground balls, while Schylar Chapman, Chrystian Coleman, and Tate Crowell each notched three caused turnovers in the win.

UC came out strong at both ends of the field as Crowell forced a pair of Wolverines turnovers, the second lead to the Patriots first goal as Fogarty found Kava to put the Patriots ahead 1-0.  Two minutes later, Cumberlands took advantage of a UM Dearborn penalty as Vanover made a cross field pass to Coltran for the man-up goal making it 2-0.  Michigan Dearborn cut the deficit to 2-1, however, Cumberlands had a quick response as Kubik won the ensuing faceoff and found Crouch cutting towards the cage for the goal to make it 3-1.

The Patriots dominated the second quarter outscoring the Wolverines 4-0 and outshooting 12-3 on the quarter.  UC attack got things started on the defensive side as Vanover forced a turnover at midfield as Dom Lulow scooped the ground ball and fired the shot from 30-yards away for the empty net goal.   Minutes later, Vanover forced another Dearborn turnover as Maalek Wilson connected with Kava for the goal to extend the lead to 5-1 with 10:12 remaining.  The Patriots added two more goals as Settle made a pair of saves in the closing minutes to make it 7-1 at the break.

Settle opened the third quarter with a save and in the transition Fogarty found Coltran, who bounced a shot just under the crossbar giving Cumebrlands an 8-1 advantage.  Michigan Dearborn added a man-up goal, before Kava completed his first collegiate hat trick off an assist from Crouch at the 3:32 mark to make it 9-2. The Wolverines netted two of the final three goals in the quarter cutting the lead to 10-4 heading into the fourth.

The final period opened with a pair of caused turnovers by Coleman and a Patriots save in the first two minutes.  As UC cleared the ball, Taylor Long beat his defender and put a well-placed shot into the cage for his first collegiate goal extending the lead to 11-4.  Vanover netted a pair of goals before dishing out an assist to Coleman making it 14-4 with 5:29 left.  In the closing minute of the game Jake Morgan raced up field and fired a shot into the cage for the 15-5 final.

Cumberlands held a 47-21 edge in ground balls and outshot the Wolverines 52-26 in the game.

UC will return the field Sunday, March 6, when they host fifth-ranked Columbia in a rematch of last year NAIA quarterfinals.  The game is set for a 2 p.m. start with live video available here.

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