(RV) MEN'S LACROSSE UPSETS #9 ST. AMBROSE FOR FIRST WIN

Photo Credit: Daryl B. Photograpy

Athens, Tenn.- The schedule did not get any easier for the Bulldogs on Sunday. After playing two straight ranked opponents on the road, (RV) Tennessee Wesleyan played their third ranked opponent in a row, this time at home when the #9 St. Ambrose University Fighting Bees came to town.

The game got off to a good start for the Bulldogs when Jaylan Steen took a pass from Stanton Grisham and sent it flying to the net for a goal, giving TWU a 1-0 lead. The team was held out of the net for the rest of the first quarter though, going into the next quarter trailing 2-1.

St. Ambrose scored the first goal in the second quarter but the Bulldogs saw the next two goals go their way. Roderick Williams took a pass from Ian Gonzalez and found it a spot in the net while Gavin Greco fed Steen a ball for his second goal, tying the game 3-3. Even though the Fighting Bees broke the tie, the Bulldogs would go into halftime leading. Williams slipped a ball past the keeper and Greco found the net to give Tennessee Wesleyan a 5-4 lead at halftime.

After giving up the first goal of the second half, the Bulldogs put their foot on the gas and did not look back. Grisham gave the lead back to TWU with his goal and a Steen-to-Jacob Patterson connection two different times gave the Bulldogs a three-goal advantage.

Including the three at the end of the third quarter, Tennessee Wesleyan scored eight straight goals to put the game out of reach. The fourth quarter's first goal came off the stick of Grisham to make the score 9-5. Steen's third goal of the contest pushed the Bulldogs into double-digits, soon taking an 11-5 lead when Williams found Grisham for a goal. Gonzalez found Williams again for the 12th goal of the contest, and a goal by Grisham off a Williams assist and Dylan Weaver's first career goal along with superb play from Kalen Fearing in the net helped TWU to the 14-6 win, the first of the season.

The four goals from Grisham were a career-high. Williams and Steen each had three goals while Patterson had two to go with Weaver's one. Fearing had 16 saves in the net for the Bulldogs

Tennessee Wesleyan (1-4) looks to move their winning streak to two in their Appalachian Athletic Conference opener against Point University on Saturday. The conference foes face off at 5:00 PM in West Point, Ga.