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JU Men’s Lacrosse Wins 8th-Straight with Victory Against Cleveland State

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in , , , .

via JU press release/website, by Alex Kerstetter

BOX SCORE

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- The Jacksonville men’s lacrosse team extended their win streak to eight games after they defeated the Cleveland State Vikings 14-12 on Wednesday afternoon.

JU STAT LEADERS

GOALS – Jackson IntrieriIbrahim Pio (3)
ASSISTS – Ibrahim Pio (2)
CAUSED TURNOVERS – Jack Heed (2)

HOW IT HAPPENED

With just under two minutes to play in the third quarter and the score tied at seven-all, Gavin Angell found net to give Jacksonville (8-1, 3-0 ASUN) the one goal advantage. Nicky Brown then followed up with a rip himself, and Jackson Intrieri found net with eight seconds left in the quarter to give Jacksonville a three-goal cushion. Dylan Watson scored what was the Dolphins fourth consecutive unanswered goal 50 seconds into the fourth and Angell rounded out the five-goal burst with his second in 3 minutes of play to see JU up 12-7.

Both sides started at a rapid pace when both teams found net once each in the first two minutes. The Vikings (3-4, 1-2 ASUN) scored four straight to start the game, before Ibrahim Pio scored with just one second left in the first quarter to stop the burst but the Dolphins found themselves down 4-2 at the break.

Jacksonville and Cleveland State scored two each in the second quarter to see the difference in similar fashion at 6-4 at halftime.

The Dolphins came soaring out the gate in the second half, scoring twice in the first 70 seconds of the third quarter thanks to Jack Taylor and Dylan Watson. Pio followed suit with a goal five minutes later to see the Dolphins regain their first lead.

After the Dolphins erupted for five consecutive goals, Cleveland State refused to go away quietly. The Vikings netted four of the next five goals and cut their deficit down to two. Pio scored his third goal to complete his hat-trick with 3:30 to play and give the Dolphins some breathing room down the stretch. CSU found net again but a big save and scooped ground ball by Luke Millican put a halt at any thought of a Vikings comeback.

WHAT THEY SAID

Head Coach John Galloway

“We are thankful to get out with a win against a tough and athletic Cleveland State group,” said head coach John Galloway after the game. “I thought we started with a bit of a lag, but I was happy with our guys’ positivity despite a deficit”

“Emotionally, we have to support each other more on the sidelines if we want to be championship caliber,” further added coach Galloway on what his team learned about themselves in this game. “That will be a point of emphasis with a quick turnaround.”

“The good news is there is no time to be disappointed,” explained coach Galloway about the short turnaround. “We get to play the pre-season favorites at their place on Friday night. We are excited to go find work in Salt Lake.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Intrieri’s hat-trick is his second consecutive after he recorded one Saturday against Mercer
The Dolphins eight game win streak is now one behind their program best of nine, which was set a season ago
Jacksonville nearly doubled Cleveland State in ground balls with 40 recorded to the Vikings 23

UP NEXT

Jacksonville has a quick turnaround and flight out west to take on Utah for a game slated Friday at 9 pm ET on ESPN+

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