via Rollins web site   WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 13, 2018) – After opening up their 2018 campaign with three hard-fought losses in adverse conditions, the Rollins men’s lacrosse team returned to Winter Park to finally take to their home field 39 days into their season.  The Tars made their long-awaited home opener count in a big way, taking down the fourth-ranked Colorado Mesa University Mavericks by a final score of 12-9 on Tuesday afternoon at Cahall-Sandspur Field. The win advances Rollins to a record of 1-3 on their young season, while the Mavericks swallow their first loss of the year, and drop to 6-1 overall.  Colorado Mesa checked in at No. 4 on both the USILA Division II Coaches Poll, as well as the NIKE/US Lacrosse Division II Men’s Top-20 this week. It was an all-around team effort as Rollins saw solid play on all areas of the field.  Jeremy Slocumb and Greg Taicher led the team with three goals and one assist each, while Grant Longnotched two goals and one assist of his own.  Blake Buell netted a goal and an assist of his own, while Joey Cinque, Jackson Colling, and Tommy Keane scored one goal each.  Kyle Sudol, and Brandon Carlin also contributed to the Tars’ scoring efforts on the day, dishing out one assist apiece.  Sudol had a big game at the faceoff-x, winning 16-of-22 attempts and earning six ground balls on the day.  Short stick middie Lucas Brushmatched K. Sudol in ground balls with six, and added a team best three caused turnovers to help the Tars maintain possession.  In goal, senior Andrew Hoemann came up big when the Tars needed him most, earning 10 saves and rounding out a full 60 minutes of action with a save percentage of .526. Colorado Mesa, who entered into Tuesday afternoon’s game coming off of their second big upset victory of the season with a 10-9 win over then 3^rd-ranked Tampa, saw a big game from goalie Remi Reeves as he earned 20 saves in 60 minutes of play.  Reeves faced  total of 32 shots from the Tars, notching a save percentage of .625 on the afternoon.  Brandon Wilson led the way for the Mavericks, scoring three goals and one assist for a four-point performance.  Reece Callies notched two goals of his own, while Jack Griffin, Johnny Cary, Jayden Campbell, and Michael Dasch, Jr. each scored one goal.  Campbell, and Connor Larrick dished out one assist apiece, while Dasch Jr. led the team in assists with two.  Michael Marino struggled at the faceoff line, winning just 5-of-14 attempts, while Austin Cromwell won 2-of-7 on the day.  Reeves picked up a game high eight ground balls in his efforts between the pipes, while Ky Reinhardt earned three.  Defensively, Griffin, Ryder Clark, and Reinhardt were credited for one caused turnover each.   HOW IT HAPPENED:

• First Quarter:  Slocumb got the scoring started with a goal off of an assist by Taicher with 10:45 on the clock in the first quarter.  The Mavericks answered back with a goal by Callies with 9:18 on the board, but an unassisted goal by Taicher gave Rollins the 2-1 lead with 7:31 to play.  Colorado Mesa fought back and netted the next two, closing out the first quarter holding onto a slim 3-2 lead over the Tars.
• Second Quarter:  Colorado Mesa entered into the second quarter and scored their third straight, extending their advantage to 4-2 with 11:59 on the clock.  Rollins was not about to back down, and scored three straight, taking a 5-4 lead with 3:43 to go before the break.  The Mavericks took advantage of a late man-up opportunity in the quarter, with Wilson finding the back of the net off of an assist by Dasch Jr. to set the score at 5-5 at halftime.
• Third Quarter:  The Mavericks opened up the third quarter much like the closed out the second, with Wilson scoring his second straight man-up goal with 12:42 on the clock to give CMU a 6-5 lead.  The Tars retaliated with two of their own thanks to unassisted goals by Slocumb and Taicher within 16 second of each other to give the Tars the slim 7-6 advantage with 9:12 on the board. The Mavericks answered with an unassisted goal by Cary with 7:53 to go, but the Tars closed out the third quarter scoring efforts with a goal by Keane off of an assist by Carlin to give Rollins the 8-7 lead entering into the final period.
• Fourth Quarter:  Rollins used a strong fourth quarter to seal the deal, opening up the final period with three straight to pull ahead to an 11-7 lead with 5:38 to play.  A goal CMU pulled the Mavericks to within three, 11-8, with 5:03 on the clock, but Taicher scored an unassisted goal with 3:39 to go to pull Rollins back into a four-goal lead, 12-8.  Despite the Mavericks’ best efforts on attack, a staunch Rollins defense held Colorado Mesa off the board until a late goal by Wilson with 44 ticks left on the clock, closing out the game with a final score of 12-9.

  NOTES:

• In all, Rollins out-shot their opponent 51-33, and saw more shots on frame, 32-19.
• The Tars bested their opponent off of the face, winning 16-of-23 on the afternoon.
• Colorado Mesa utilized extra-man opportunities to their advantage, scoring on 5-of-7 man-up opportunities.
• Grant Long notched a season best in points, goals, and assists, with three points, two goals, and one assist.
• Evan Schimek matched a career best in ground balls with four.
• Jeremy Slocumb earned a new career high in points scored in a game with four, and matched a career best three goals which he first set on February 18 against Wheeling Jesuit.
• Kyle Sudol earned the first assist of his career as a Tar
• Brandon Carlin earned the first assist of his career
• James Cowan earned a career best two caused turnovers
• Roy Hansen earned a career best four ground balls
• Rollins now leads the all-time series with the Mavericks, 3-2.  The last time the Tars defeated Colorado Mesa was on March 19, 2016, where Rollins took down the Mavericks by a final score of 7-5.  All five games between the two teams have been played in Winter Park.
• Freshman Kyle Sudol currently sits third in program record books for Faceoff Win Percentage.  Sudol has won 43-of-74 attempts, and currently holds onto a win percentage of .581.
• With 69 overall points, Greg Taicher jumps from 10^th to sixth in program record books for points in a career.  Taicher also sits 9^th overall in career goals (49) and has climbed to ninth in career assists (20).
• Lucas Brush has earned 119 ground balls, and has climbed one spot to sit sixth in program record books for ground balls in a career.  He is currently tied with Andrew Matthews `17.  The Dublin, Ohio native is also currently fifth in program record books for career caused turnovers with 49.  He currently sits 28 CT’s behind program leader Nick Scannapieco (2010-13) who amassed 77 in his career.

  NEXT: Rollins sets their sights on Westminster (Utah), with the Tars and Griffins set to square off on Friday, March 16, at 1 pm.  Fans who are unable to attend the game in person can follow all of the action live on the Tars Sports Network on RollinsSports.com, as well as with live stats on TarsStats.com. For the latest news, updates, and information on the Rollins men’s lacrosse team, fans can visit RollinsSports.com.  Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest #TARnation news by following Rollins Sports on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.