Joseph Marvin: Assistant Sports Information Director
HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. – The Brevard College Tornados Men's Lacrosse team (3-5, 1-2 USAS) fell in a close, 17-16 battle to the William Peace Pacers (4-6, 1-1 USAS) on Saturday afternoon at Ting Park in Holly Springs, N.C.
With the match all square, 8-8, at the half, the Pacers outscored Brevard by a 6-1 margin in the third quarter to take a 14-9 lead into the contest's final quarter.
The Pacers would extend their lead to 17-13 with 5:14 remaining in the game before the Tornados scored three-straight unanswered goals in two minutes to cut WPU's lead to 17-16. However, William Peace was able to get one last defensive stop in the game's waning seconds to secure the conference victory.
Hewitt Farr, Brevard's leading scorer in the 2019 season, added to his personal ledger on Saturday, striking for six goals.
Fellow senior attacker Jackson McKaig enjoyed a well-balanced performance, scoring three times while distributing four assists.
Sam Duffie added three goals and an assist, while Joel Vacchiano, Daniel Ramos, and Sean Pratt all scored for BC.
Defensively, Brevard was led by the performance of long-stick midfielder Robert Kokal, who grabbed a game-high 14 ground balls while causing two turnovers.
Senior goalkeeper Peyton Mooney recorded 15 saves, bringing his 2019 total to 124.
William Peace was led offensively by the performances of Brewer Warlick (five goals), Dalton Albright (four goals), and Nick Falso (three goals). The Pacers caused havoc defensively as well, causing 11 turnovers.
In total, the Pacers outshot the Tornados, 55-45, with a 32-28 shot-on-goal advantage. Brevard committed 19 turnovers compared to WPU's 13.
The Tornados (20 FO's) won four more faceoffs than the Pacers (16 FO's), and BC converted 4-of-6 man-up attempts compared to WPU's 2-of-5 rate.
Brevard fared well on clear attempts (21-of-26), however, the Pacers converted 16 of their 17 clear attempts.
The first half proved back-and-forth as neither side established more than a one-goal lead. Farr struck first on a McKaig assist before WPU answered, tying the match at 1-1.
Both sides traded goals on their next three scores, as the contest remained deadlocked at 4-4 with 2:27 left after a William Peace equalizer. The Pacers took a 5-4 lead after Adrian Brown scored unassisted with 1:39 left in the first quarter.
The Tornados tied the contest, 5-5, early in the second quarter as Farr connected on a man-up opportunity. WPU answered right back just 20 seconds later with a Falso unassisted goal.
Farr followed with his second man-up goal of the period, driving home McKaig's third assist to tie the match at 6-6.
BC and WPU traded its next two goals, as Farr's fourth goal of the afternoon tied the match at 8-8 heading into the intermission.
The Pacers started the second half on fire, scoring four unanswered goals to establish a 12-8 lead with 6:18 remaining in the third quarter. McKaig connected at the 4:50 mark to slice into WPU's lead, however, William Peace closed the quarter out with two goals to extend its lead to a game-high five-goal spread.
Both teams traded goals to start the final quarter before Ramos and Farr scored back-to-back goals for the Tornados, bringing the deficit to within three, 15-12.
WPU would extend its lead out to 17-13 with just 6:25 left in the match before the Tornados caught a spark offensively, scoring three-straight goals, including Farr's sixth of the afternoon with just 37 seconds left to play.
After a faceoff win, the Tornados used a timeout to draw up one final play to tie the contest up. However, the Pacers made a defensive stand to hold its one-point lead, taking the USA South matchup by a final of 17-16.
The Tornados now turn their attention to a two-match week upcoming. Brevard will visit NCAA DII Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Georgia on Wednesday, March 27 at 4 p.m. before a Saturday evening USA South matchup against Greensboro College on March 30 at 6 p.m. at Ives-Lemel Family Field.
To follow along with all the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Athletics, please follow the Tornados on Twitter and Instagram @bctornados, subscribe to 'Brevard College Tornados'' on YouTube, follow 'Brevard College Tornados' on SoundCloud, or like Brevard College Athletics on Facebook.
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