YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – A five-goal first quarter and 8-1 halftime lead were more than enough to propel Lander to a commanding 15-3 road win over Young Harris on Saturday afternoon.
The win improves the Bearcats to 3-2 and drops the Mountain Lions to 2-3.
Zane Dalpe's four goals were tops on the team with
Trevor Batastini in tow with three.
Michael Mattaliano and
Jeremy Wudrick each scored a pair, and
Bradley Brown,
Myles Guthrie,
Will Maeder and
Carter Wilcox all added one.
Wudrick broke the ice at the 1:14 mark of the first quarter. Brown and Dalpe followed in short order as the Blue and Gold enjoyed a 3-0 lead 4:40 into the day.
Mattaliano got his first halfway through the first and Guthrie scored his goal with 1:46 to go in the quarter.
Wudrick and Dalpe scored their second goals 37 seconds apart early in the second quarter as Lander scored the game's first seven goals.
After Young Harris found the back of the net, Dalpe completed his hat-trick with 7:26 left in the first half.
Lander scored four unanswered goals in the third quarter for a 12-1 lead by the start of the fourth. The Bearcats also had three straight scores in the fourth, giving them an 8-0 run that began in the second quarter.
Britton Weems caused four turnovers for the defense and grabbed five ground balls.
Nicholas Paige earned the win in net with eight saves on nine shots (.889 save percentage).
The Bearcats will be back on the road this Wednesday (Feb. 26) for a non-conference matchup with South Atlantic Conference-member Newberry. Faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
