Babson Park, FL – The 10th ranked Webber International Men's Lacrosse team took on the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs in AAC play Saturday afternoon. Webber erased an early two-goal deficit and briefly took control in the second quarter, but Tennessee Wesleyan answered with a 6-1 run spanning the end of the first half and much of the second half before surviving Webber's late push.
After a scoreless opening quarter, Tennessee Wesleyan struck first with back-to-back goals at 12:45 and 10:42 of the second to grab a 2-0 lead. Webber answered immediately when Max Cary found the net at 10:28, and after the Bulldogs made it 3-1, the Warriors surged with four straight goals. Cary scored again at 7:45 and completed his hat trick at 6:48, Ethan Baker added a goal at 5:56, and Nick Sheaffer scored at 4:36 to give Webber a 5-3 advantage. Tennessee Wesleyan responded before halftime with three unanswered goals, including a man-up score by Jack Driscoll, to take a 6-5 lead into the break.
Webber pulled even early in the third quarter when Nick Sheaffer scored a man-down goal off an assist from Benjamin Sheldon at 11:41, tying the match at 6-6. From there, Tennessee Wesleyan capitalized on extra-man chances and offensive pressure, scoring three times in the third period to build a 9-6 lead heading into the fourth. The Bulldogs then added two quick goals in the opening minutes of the fourth to stretch the margin to 11-6 and later led 13-7 with 7:16 remaining.
The Warriors did not go away quietly. Israel Miranda scored at 9:14, Branden Sheaffer added another at 5:35, and Isaiah Espaillat scored twice in a 44-second span, including a man-up goal at 3:27, to bring Webber within 13-10. After Tennessee Wesleyan answered at 1:45, Max Cary finished off his fourth goal of the day at 1:24 to account for the 14-11 final.
Cary led the Webber attack with four goals, while Espaillat added two goals and Nick Sheaffer finished with two goals and an assist. Miranda, Baker, and Branden Sheaffer each scored once, while Sheldon chipped in two assists and Joseph Xiarhos added one. Miranda was strong at the faceoff stripe, winning 20 of 26 faceoffs and collecting a game-high 14 ground balls as Webber held a 21-6 edge in faceoff wins and a 31-22 advantage in ground balls. In goal, Colton Renkiewicz made 12 saves for the Warriors.
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