Williamsburg, KY – The third-ranked UC men's lacrosse team netted at least four goals in three of the four quarters as they earned a 14-9 win over eighth-ranked Concordia Sunday afternoon at the UC Lacrosse Complex.  Head Coach Kody Swann earns the win in his Patriot debut as Cumberlands has now  won seven straight season openers.

Maalek Wilson and Dennis Smith led the way for UC with four goals and an assist each, while freshman Caden Abott tallied five points in the win.  Evan Barton and Johnathon Vanover each added a pair of goals.  Dakota White went 10-13 and scooped a team-high nine ground balls, while Michael Adams notched a 9-13 mark on faceoffs.  Jack Bichsel made ten saves in the victory.

Both teams came out with strong defensive efforts before Barton connected with Wilson for the first goal of the game.  A minute later, Abbott forced a turnover and on the ensuing possession Smith found Barton cutting towards the cage for a goal to make it 2-0.  Smith added a pair of goals, while Bichsel notched a pair of saves extending UC's lead to 4-0 after the opening quarter.

Concordia rallied scoring five of the first six goals in the second quarter to even the score at 5-5 with 8:07 remaining.  White won the next faceoff and found Barton for goal putting the Patriots back in front.  Wilson added a goal and an assists to give UC an 8-5 edge with 5:27 remaining.  Owen Hebenstreit forced one of his two caused turnovers in the closing minutes of the half giving Cumberlands the 8-5 advantage at half.

UC tallied four shots in the opening minutes of the third quarter but couldn't extend their lead until the Patriots took advantage of a Cardinals penalty as Nick Kava found Abott for a man-up goal.  From the point the defense continued to step up for UC as they took a 9-7 lead into the fourth quarter.

White won the opening faceoff of the fourth quarter and on the ensuing possession Abott found Vanover dodging towards the cage for a goal.  Cumberlands added two more goals, including a man-up goal from Vanover to extend their lead to 12-7. The two teams traded goals before freshman Alex Heck notched his first collegiate assist connecting with Abbott.  Bichsel tallied three saves in the closing minutes for the 14-9 final.

Cumberlands outshot Concordia 44-32 in the game and went 21-24 on clears.

The Patriots return to the field Saturday, February 15^th, when they travel to Marietta, GA to face (RV) Life in their AAC opener.  The game is slated to begin at 5 p.m.

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