via Webber press release   BOX SCORE ATHENS, Tenn. (April 16, 2021) – The first ever season of competition for the Webber International University men’s lacrosse team came to an end in the first round of the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament as the sixth-seeded Warriors fell to third-seeded and nationally-recognized Tennessee Wesleyan University by a final score of 13-9. The Warriors got off to a great start in their first ever postseason game, leading 3-0 after the first quarter and then taking a 3-2 advantage into halftime. Webber’s first goal was by Alexander Kew less than two minutes into the action, and then on the ensuing faceoff, Cade Bullard picked up the groundball and found Blake Nelson for a goal to make it 2-0 only 11 seconds after the first goal. Kew added his second goal of the opening 15 minutes with only 33 seconds to go in the first quarter. To start the second half, Dave Becker scored less than one minute in to make it 4-2 Webber, but then Tennessee Wesleyan responded with four straight goals over the next five and a half minutes to take a 6-4 advantage. The Warriors, however, refused to quit and answered back with back-to-back goals by Chase Jackson and Kew to tie it at 6-6 with 6:26 left in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs scored again after the ensuing faceoff to retake the lead in only 18 seconds. TWU then added two more goals late in the third quarter to outscore Webber 7-3 in all in the period. Webber started the fourth quarter with a goal by Nelson assisted by Christian Tapia to make it 9-7 still with 12 minutes left to play, but two more goals by TWU with seven minutes and then four and a half minutes remaining made it a four-goal deficit. Tapia scored on the assist by Gauge Smith with just under four minutes to go, and then Kew scored his fourth goal of the game on the assist from Brycen Ortiz with 2:19 left to make it 11-9 before the Bulldogs added two goals again at the end of the period. Webber’s Head Coach Chris Burdick spoke after the game, saying “Our kids really competed today. Our preparation all week was outstanding, and today we played a very tough college lacrosse game, dictating the tone of the game for the majority of the first two quarters. Jordan Elam showed that he is one of the best athletes in the NAIA. We had to use Dave Becker sparingly today due to an injury, and Jordan really gave them all they could handle at the faceoff. We hit some adversity in the third quarter with a few penalties that really changed the momentum of the game. I give our kids credit, they bounced back and fought to 9-7, and we had some chances late to close that gap even more, but didn’t capitalize.” The Warriors did outshoot the Bulldogs 29-27, but it was Tennessee Wesleyan that won 17 of the 25 faceoffs and was 15-for-18 on clear attempts compared to 14-for-19 for Webber. In goal, Brad Taylor and Caleb Shaffer both made three saves for Webber while TWU’s Patrick DeMoss finished with 11 saves. Webber finished its inaugural season 3-7 overall, 3-4 in conference games and 3-2 in home games. Meanwhile TWU, which improved to 7-4 overall and remained undefeated at home at 4-0, will advance to the TSC semifinals to play the University of the Cumberlands. “I want to appreciate our players and families for a great first season,” concluded Burdick. “Mostly, I want to appreciate our Assistant Coach Ryan McAleavey for this commitment to the program. We are very fortunate to have someone with his coaching pedigree on our sideline.”