ANDERSON, S.C. -- The No. 20 Trojans nearly pulled off the upset over No. 8 Rollins in Sunday's midday matchup, scoring seven unanswered goals in a nine-minute stretch of the fourth quarter. The Tars were ultimately able to hold off Anderson's comeback, however, scoring two quick in the final two minutes of the game to win it, 14-13.
"Great effort from the team today," said Head Coach Albert Mitchell. "I'm proud of how we fought back. We work on how we can finish next time."
A scoreless opening quarter for the Trojans forced the home team into a five-goal deficit to enter the second 15 minutes of play. Just two minutes into Q2, though, Anderson attackman Ryan Bitterman (Alpharetta, Ga.) picked up his first of four goals on the afternoon to open the scoring for the Black and Gold. Not a minute later, Radyn Badraun (Mission Viejo, Calif.) got on the scoresheet, followed by Cole Sparks (West Islip, N.Y.) and a second from Bitterman to close out the half. The Tars led 10-4 going into the break.
The third quarter saw both sides add two goals to the scoreline, before Anderson went on a seven-goal tear in Q4. A pair of goals from Bitterman and Badraun, combined with goals from PJ Fenchak (Lutherville Timonium, Md.), Matt Morgenroth (Dacula, Ga.) and Brodie Deutsch (Wilmington, N.C.) gave the Trojans their first lead of the game. The Trojans led the Tars 13-12 with less than four minutes to play, but Rollins was able to bounce back, slipping in two goals in a minute's time to regain the lead and come out on top, 14-13.
Anderson outshot Rollins 47 to 35, with 25 shots on target, and gathered 46 groundballs to Rollins' 26. The Trojans also boasted a perfect 15-for-15 clear percentage and won 22 of 30 faceoffs.
Brayden Bushnoe (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) tallied three assists and a goal to join Bitterman with four points in the contest. Deutsch, Sparks and Badraun each recorded three points. Badraun also gathered six groundballs, followed by Morgenroth with five.
The Trojans now enter a three-match away-game stretch, facing Embry-Riddle next Saturday at 1 PM in Savannah, Ga. AU is back at home March 8 versus Lenoir-Rhyne.
