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FSC: Lalli Comes Up Big in Men’s Lacrosse Win at Wingate

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in .
via press release – photo via FSC web site   WINGATE, N.C. – Matt Lalli nearly set a school record for saves as Florida Southern College men’s lacrosse held Wingate to just two second-half goals in a 9-7 win on Friday at the Irwin Belk Complex. The Moccasins (1-1) overcame a 4-1 first-quarter deficit and staved off a late rally by the Bulldogs (2-1) to earn their first victory of the season despite having not played in more than two weeks. HOW IT HAPPENED • Florida Southern drew first blood when Dalton Simpson scored just a minute and a half into the first quarter thanks to an assist from Joe Appio. Wingate responded with a man-up goal a minute later to even the game at 1-1, and the Bulldogs scored at the 9:59 mark to grab a 2-1 lead. • The Moccasins looked to be in trouble when Wingate scored back-to-back goals within 14 seconds of each other to put Florida Southern in a 4-1 hole after the opening period of play. • Florida Southern would turn the tide in the second quarter, scoring three unanswered goals to tie the game. Kevin Dyer and Lucas Claude scored the first two goals of the quarter at the 10:32 and 5:29 mark, and Kyle Silverstien put home a shot on a man-up opportunity to even the score at 4-4. • Wingate scored on its own man-up opportunity with 1:48 on the clock to regain the lead, but Dyer responded with his second goal of the game just moments later to send the teams to the half tied at 5-5. • Both teams traded goals to start the second half, with the Mocs scoring first when Ashton Ceppos took the opening faceoff of the half and ran the length of the field to score unassisted. The score stayed at 6-5 for more than 10 minutes, but the Bulldogs finally broke through with 4:13 to play in the third to draw even. • The Moccasins responded with a pair of goals just 13 seconds apart as Cody Gray and Liam Winwood scored to give the Mocs an 8-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter. • Austin Murphy drew Wingate within one goal when he scored with 11:28 left in the game, but Silverstein would put the game away for good when he scored with 55 second to go to give the Moccasins their first win of the year. INSIDE THE NUMBERS • Florida Southern moved to 4-4 all-time against Wingate, including 3-1 when facing the Bulldogs on the road. The Moccasins have one three-straight games at Wingate. • Lalli made 16 saves in the contest, falling just one shy of his career-high of 17. Five of his saves came in the fourth quarter of play. The Moccasins outshot the Bulldogs 43-39, and grab 38 ground balls to Wingate’s 28. Each team had 17 successful clear attempts, and Florida Southern won 12-of-19 faceoffs. • Silverstein recorded six shots in the game, while Dyer and Simpson each tallied five. Ceppos led all field players with five ground balls while Joe Biondi, Jr., Tyler Kopen and Austen Lison each had three. UP NEXT • Florida Southern will stay on the road when it squares off with Queens (NC) at 12 p.m. on Sunday before returning home to take on Lake Erie at 7 p.m. on Feb. 28 in the first of two-straight home games.