Williamsburg, KY – The third-ranked UC men's lacrosse team five first quarter goals and netted a pair in the final four minutes to knock off fifth-ranked St. Ambrose 12-9 Sunday afternoon at the UC Lacrosse Complex.  With the win, the Patriots improve to 2-0 on the season with their second consecutive win against a ranked opponent.

Will Rogers led the way offensively with six points (2 goals, 4 assists) and six ground balls, while Tanner Popovich netted a hat trick and an assist in the game.  Maalek Wilson recorded his first career hat trick to help UC secure the win.  Dom Lulow recorded a carer-high four caused turnovers and six ground balls to go along with two points.  Nik Kubik went 19-24 and scooped a game-high 11 ground balls, while Schylar Chapman notched three caused turnovers and five ground balls.  Michael Toohey made seven saves to improve to 2-0 on the year.

Cumberlands struck first just over a minute into the game as Christian Vanover scooped the rebound and connected with Lulow, who was dodging towards the crease for a goal.  Kubik won the ensuing faceoff and on UC's possession Rogers found Popovich for a goal making it 2-0 with 12:30 left.  The Patriots defense hounded the Bees as the two teams traded goals before Nick Kava netted an unassisted goal to make it 4-1 with 6:09 remaining.  UC add a Wilson goal to extend their lead to 5-1 after the opening quarter.

UC continued the to apply the pressure on the offensive end in the second quarter firing six shots in the first four minutes, the last of which found the back of the cage as Popovich tallied his second straight multi-goal game.  Kubik won the next faceoff and the Patriots worked the ball quickly to Vanover, who put a well-placed shot into the upper corner of the cage giving Cumberlands a 7-1 advantage.  UC notched four caused turnovers as Toohey made three saves to keep the Patriots in front 7-2 heading into halftime.

The Patriots came out of the break looking to extend their lead as goals from Rogers and Dawson Coltran made it 9-2 with 10:30 remaining in the third quarter.  UC looked to keep the momentum going, however, Nolan Hayes made four of his game-high 25 saves to keep the Patriots off the board, while St. Ambrose scored five unanswered to cut the lead to 9-7 heading into the fourth quarter.

Just over a minute in the fourth quarter, Coltran forced a turnover and scooped the ground ball as Lulow found Popovich for a goal pushing UC's lead back to three at 10-7.   Hayes made eight fourth quarter saves to keep St. Ambrose within striking distances while the Bees added a pair of goals to cut the lead to 10-9 with 5:21 left.  UC once again turned to Kubik, who won the face-off, and Lulow, who forced a turnover which led to Wilson's first multi-goal game of the season making it 11-9 with 3:44 left.  Cumberlands defense forced a turnover and in the closing minute, Wilson completed the hat trick with an empty net, man-up goal for the 12-9 final.

UC will return to the field Saturday, February 25, when they travel to Ann Arbor, MI to face Concordia.  The game is set for a 5 p.m. start with live video available here.

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