![Fourth-Quarter Rally Lifts TU to Win in Season Finale](/images/2018-19/MenLacrosse/mlax_action19_peterson1_clarke_new.jpg)
Fourth-Quarter Rally Lifts TU to Win in Season Finale
UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor closed its inaugural men's lacrosse season in style on Saturday, scoring 12 of the last 15 goals to pull out a 22-17 win over Concordia and secure a 6-6 overall mark in the historic first year.
Concordia (4-9, 1-7 WHAC) opened the day with a pair of goals and the two sides traded punches throughout the duration of the opening half, with Taylor never leading and never facing a deficit of more than two.
TU narrowed the gap to 8-7 at the half, when Ian McClain assisted a Grant Gerig strike with 10 seconds to play in the second quarter, and goals from McClain and Gerig to open the third gave the Trojans their first lead of the contest.
The guests countered by ripping off five-straight goals to take their largest lead of the afternoon and held a 14-10 cushion with 2:30 remaining in the third.
It would be all Taylor from that point on, as the Purple and Gold outscored the Cardinals by a 12-3 margin over the final 17:30 of competition, including a 9-3 count in a dominant fourth-quarter effort.
Taylor outshot CU by a 22-6 margin in the final period, won the ground ball count by a 14-5 mark and won 11-of-13 faceoffs in the last 15 minutes.
A stretch of five-unanswered tallies from TU turned the tide and gave Taylor a 15-14 lead, before a goal from Grant Gerig put Taylor in front to stay with 9:43 remaining.
Gerig and Josiah Peterson ignited the late surge for TU, as Gerig scored five times during the 12-3 rally and Peterson went for four goals and two assists in that time.
Gerig finished the Senior Day victory with a career-high seven goals to pace the Taylor offense, while Peterson logged six goals, two helpers and a career-best 10 ground balls. Tyler Gerig was active yet again, closing with five goals, with McClain adding three goals, two assists and seven ground balls.
Nathan Sahly turned in another steady performance with seven ground balls and three caused turnovers, with Teegan Heiniger winning 26-of-36 faceoffs to go with seven ground balls and two assists.
RV Taylor closes its season at 6-6 overall, with a 2-6 clip in WHAC play and is set to return 17-of-23 players from its first-ever varsity roster.
The Trojans are poised to graduate Peterson, Nate Phillips, Tyler Gerig, Nathan Mortensen, Matt Nguyen and Jeff Kaczmarek from the squad and honored each senior during halftime.