LEXINGTON, Va. –
Brayden Mayea posted five goals and an assist to reach his 100
th career point as the High Point University men's lacrosse team picked up a 17-11 win at VMI on Friday night.
Jack VanOverbeke (4G) and
Michael Ippolito (3G) also finished with hat tricks while
Grant Ammann tallied four ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Site: Drill Field #2
Score: High Point 17, VMI 11
Records: High Point (2-1), VMI (2-1)
"That was a hard-fought game," said head coach
Jon Torpey. "We knew this road win was going to be tough, VMI is an incredibly well-coached team. Coach Purpura does a great job, him and his staff, with their personnel. I was proud of the ways our guys adapted; they pivoted in a lot of different scenarios. The staff did a really good job of making changes, and it was just a 60-minute battle."
Mayea was the first to score, giving HPU the early 1-0 advantage less than 20 seconds into the game. VMI tied the game with its first score on the next possession. VanOverbeke took back the Panther lead with 10:07 on the clock before
Henry Mudlaff scored his first goal of the season less than 20 seconds later to put High Point ahead, 3-1.
The Keydets countered with the next three goals to take their only lead of the game at 4-3, but HPU scored the next four to hold the 7-4 lead over the home team with 3:15 remaining in the opening period.
Collin Hoben won four-straight face-offs in the stretch as he finished the night going 17-for-27 at the X.
Mayea added his third and fourth goals within a 30-second period, capitalizing on an extra-man opportunity. With time running down on the shot clock, Ippolito picked up a ground ball and capitalized with a behind-the-back goal. Murphy added another goal, his second of the season, a minute later to finish the run.
After a VMI goal,
Zack Brenfleck picked up a ground ball with 44 seconds left on the clock and cleared the ball to the offense. Ippolito cashed in with another goal to keep HPU ahead, 8-5, and left just 11.1 seconds left on the clock.
The two teams opened the second quarter trading goals back-and-forth while VanOverbeke added his second goal of the night less than five minutes into the period. After another Keydets pulled within 9-7,
Hunter Vines found
Jaxson Lamb for his third goal of the season. HPU held the 10-7 lead going into the halftime break.
With a quiet start in the third quarter for both teams, VMI eventually scored on back-to-back possessions to pull within one, 10-9. HPU countered as
Jack Sawyer scored his first goal on the next possession and Mayea added his fourth two minutes later to help HPU to a 12-9 lead with 8:19 left in the third.
VMI scored the next two goals, but with two minutes remaining, High Point tallied goals from VanOverbeke and Ippolito to hold the 14-11 lead heading into the final period. The Panther defense held VMI scoreless for the rest of the game as the HPU offense continued to roll.
In the fourth quarter, VanOverbeke, Sawyer, and Mayea scored three goals to close out the game.
Parker Green tallied three saves in the quarter while
Grant Ammann and
Tyler Baird each recorded two caused turnovers.
Up Next: High Point returns home to host Navy on Saturday, February 25
th. First face-off on Saturday morning is set for 11:00 a.m. in Vert Stadium.
#GoHPU
