GREENWOOD – The theme of the afternoon at Van Taylor Stadium was scoring runs – and it was one of the 7-0 variety that finally gave Lander the space it needed to clinch a berth in the Peach Belt Division Championship on Saturday afternoon.
The No. 1 seed Bearcats (9-6) defeated the No. 4 seed Alabama-Huntsville Chargers (2-14) by a 16-14 final, but that run turned a 10-9 deficit into a 16-10 lead over a 12-minute stretch between the third and fourth quarters.
Six different Bearcats scored throughout the run –
Bradley Brown was the only player to double-up – and 10 had a goal in a game that was twice delayed pregame by lightning in the area.
Brown and
Carter Wilcox scored three times each against the Chargers,
Levi Roest and
Emory Watson had two apiece, and six others netted one:
Trevor Batastini,
Zane Dalpe,
Nathan DeThomasis,
Chase Hanson,
Michael Mattaliano and
Jeremy Wudrick.
Nicholas Paige picked up his sixth win in goal with 11 saves.
Dalpe started the game off strong with a goal at the 2:21 mark, but it was UAH who served as the trendsetters with four unanswered goals to gain a three-goal advantage with 3:46 left in the first.
Then it was the Blue and Gold's turn: goals from Watson, Roest and Wilcox – the last with 11 seconds on the clock – made it four-all after 15 minutes. Another pair of goals from Brown and Wudrick extended that Bearcat run to 5-0 and put them ahead by a pair 12 minutes before the halftime horn.
Huntsville responded by outscoring Lander 4-2 to tie the game at eight by half.
Trailing 16-10 with 7:19 remaining in the game as a result of the game-changing Bearcat surge discussed above, the Chargers to their credit didn't go away quietly.
They scored four straight goals over a near-four-minute stretch to cut the Lander lead to two with two minutes to go. The Bearcats were not to be denied however, and withstood the late push to earn the victory.
With Flagler taking the nightcap 12-7 over Montevallo, the No. 1 and 2 seeds will do battle for the Peach Belt Division Title at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon from the
Jeff May Complex. The winner will take on the Rocky Mountain Division winner for the PBC Championship and an auto-bid into the NCAA Tournament on Friday, May 2.
Tickets for Saturday's game must be purchased online.
