The Missouri Baptist University men's lacrosse team (2-7, 1-2) team fell to (RV) Columbia College on Wednesday, April 1, on Spartan Field.
The Cougars (5-4, 2-1) came out swinging with three goals in the first two minutes of play. MBU managed to gain possession but could not find the back of the net until the eighth-minute mark. Senior attacker
Joe Busselman ended the 0-5 drought with a kill from the 30-yard line off a pass from
Jake Cordes.
Missouri Baptist struggled to close the gap, as the Cougars kept heavy pressure on goalie
Daniel Heinrich with 15 shots in the first quarter alone. Attacker Nico Andrews tallied four goals to put the Cougars up 8-1, including the first of the game and three consecutive scores to end the quarter.
After a quick break, the Spartans turned up the heat in the second frame.
Drew Chiodini led the charge with a quick goal, and
Liam Prindable followed his lead with two scores of his own. In the final two minutes of the quarter, the Cougars broke the 3-0 run with goals by William Rusk and Brock Pleis, his third of the game. By halftime, the Spartans had cut the lead by one point, trailing 4-10.
Columbia took control in the third quarter, going on a 5-0 run with seven shots on goal (SOG), compared to only one from the Spartans. Midfielder
Ryan Metcalf cut the streak with an unassisted goal in the last three minutes, but the gap stretched to 5-15 entering the final frame.
Caleb Ward, Metcalf and Chiodini kept the Spartans alive, but the Cougars kept their foot on the gas to maintain the ten-point scoring gap. After a seven-minute drought, the Cougars added one more goal to secure the win, 20-9.
Chiodini, Prindable, Metcalf and Ward ended the game with two goals each, while Prindable collected one. Heinrich finished with ten saves on 30 SOG, and
Anthony Fillerup secured 16 of 31 faceoffs.
The Spartans travel to (RV) Benedictine College on Saturday, April 4, for a 4 p.m. faceoff.
