Crestview Hills, KY -- On Tuesday afternoon the Malone University Men's Lacrosse team traveled to Crestview Hills, KY to take on the Thomas More University Saints. 

Dominant first and fourth quarters led to a convincing Pioneer win via a final score of 16-7.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Final Score: Malone University Pioneers 16 - Thomas More University Saints 7
• Records: Malone (5-4, 2-0 G-MAC) | Thomas More (0-5, 0-2 GMAC)
• Location: Crestview Hills, Kentucky

THE GAME
Zac Smargiasso set the tone early as he put the Pioneers ahead with his 17th goal of the season. He added to his point total quickly as he found Luke Ory who rifled home the feed to double the Pioneers lead. Nolan Winter followed suit and Ory scored his second goal to stretch the lead to four. Ramsey Burnard closed out the quarter as the Pioneers dominated every second to take a 5-0 lead after one. 

Thomas More gathered themselves between quarters and looked to battle back as they rattled off two quickfire goals to cut the deficit to three. Kenny Kaiser rifled home a shot and Eli Ciotti hit paydirt to put Malone back ahead by five. Spencer Lethbridge scored his third goal of the contest to cut into the Pioneers lead yet again. Ory and Talon Heath battled back with a goal a piece to bring the lead to six. The Saints closed out the half with a goal of their own to leave the score at 9-4 in favor of the Pioneers. 

Both teams came out of the half sluggish. The Saints scored the only two goals of the period as each team struggled to make any offensive headway. Strong defensive play limited the Saints as Malone forced four turnovers. Cody Borgert and Nick Sanderson regathered the troops as they each forced crucial turnovers. The Pioneers looked to create some cushion as they found themselves ahead only 9-6 heading into the fourth. 

Captain Heath led the charge in a dominant fourth quarter. He started things off with an electric goal on a feed from Burnard. Ty McCort won the ensuing face-off and found Heath again who rifled home his second of the quarter. The Italian Stallion Ciotti showed his flashy play with another Pioneer goal on a feed from Ory. Heath swept in moments later with yet another goal on a feed from the Golden Boy Smargiasso. While the Saints managed to break the scoring frenzy and bring themselves back to within six, the Pioneers were far from done. The Canadian Canon Ory lit up the scoreboard again on yet another feed from Smargiasso. As the temperatures dropped the Pioneers looked to put the finishing touches on the contest. The cold weather summoned Winter who scored his second of the game. Mere seconds later, Ciotti concluded the scoring. When it was all said and done, the Pioneers won their 3rd straight by a final score of 16-7. 

DETAILS

• Talon Heath led the way with 4 goals and 2 assists to finish with 6 points. Luke Ory (4 goals and an assist) and Zac Smargiasso (1 goal and 4 assists) each finished with 5 points. Eli Ciotti scored a trio of goals and an assist to finish with 4 points. 
• Cody Borgert, Nick Sanderson, Brice Christmas, and Seth Jewart led the way defensively as they each forced crucial saint turnovers. 
• Heath, Kamden Kraft, and Eion Juhas brought their vacuums as they each sucked up 5 groundballs
• Phillip Bell stonewalled the Saints with 15 saves and the W

WHAT'S NEXT
The Men are back in action on Saturday March 23rd at 12:00 P.M. as they travel to Petersburg, Virginia to take on HBCU Virginia State University. 


FOLLOW THE PIONEERS
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Malone University athletic programs this year follow the Pioneers on Twitter and Instagram, like Malone University Athletics on Facebook or visit www.malonepioneers.com.