CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The High Point University men's lacrosse team dropped a 17-15 contest to No. 14 Jacksonville at the Crown Lacrosse Classic on Saturday night.
Hunter Vines and
Brayden Mayea each tallied hat tricks while
Michael Ippolito finished with four assists.
Pete St. Geme picked up four ground balls and tallied three caused turnovers.
Site: American Legion Memorial Stadium
Score: High Point 15, No. 14 Jacksonville 17
Records: High Point (4-2), No. 14 Jacksonville (3-1)
Head coach
Jon Torpey: "Hats off to Jacksonville, I thought their game plan and execution was very strong. There were times in the game where we did some great things, but it was very clear that we did not put together a 60-minute effort. With that said, I truly admire the fight of our guys. Down six in the third quarter, it would have been easy to throw in the towel, but we made some adjustments and were able to make it a one goal game with 7:41 to play in the fourth. Unfortunately, it was a little too late. With that said, I love this team; we have some work to do, but I look forward to seeing this group continue to grow."
The first quarter was low scoring, ending with a tied contest as each team claimed two goals. The Dolphins were first on the board just over two and a half minutes in and held the 1-0 lead most of the period. HPU countered as Vines scored on a dish from
Colin Cooke with 5:53 left in the quarter.
Jacksonville countered with another score two minutes later, but Mayea tied up the game at two goals apiece with 1:22 left in the frame.
Both offenses got on a roll in the second quarter, with the Dolphins again striking first to take a one-goal lead a minute into the period. The Panthers tied the game as Vines found Ippolito for his lone goal of the night. Jacksonville scored the next two, but
Nick Rizzo scored on a ball from Ippolito to get High Point back within one, 5-4, with 8:07 remaining in the half.
The HPU defense held Jacksonville scoreless for the next three minutes, but the Dolphins took a 6-4 lead with just under five minutes remaining. Cooke responded less than a minute later with his sole score of the night. The Dolphins scored two more before the end of the half, but Vines added his second goal of the night to keep High Point within 8-6 at the halftime break.
Jacksonville jumped out to a 6-1 run to open the second half, broken up by a Mayea goal with 6:27 left in the period. With the Dolphins holding a 14-7 lead with 3:29 left in the third quarter, HPU mounted a 5-0 run into the first three minutes of the fourth quarter to get back within 14-12.
Isiah Moran-Weekes scored two goals at the end of the third quarter while
Jack Sawyer, Rizzo, and
Jaxson Lamb each added scores.
Jacksonville extended its lead to three with another goal, but HPU cashed in on the next two to get back within 15-14 with 7:41 to play. The Dolphins responded with a goal on the next possession and then added another for a comfortable three-goal lead with 4:43 remaining.
Nick Murphy added HPU's final goal with 2:22 left, but the Panthers were unable to connect on another look.
Up Next: High Point returns to Vert Stadium to host Queens on Tuesday night. First face-off is set for 7:00 p.m. as the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
#GoHPU x #A10MLAX
