ANDERSON, S.C. -- The No. 7 Anderson Trojans defeated the No. 6 Lenoir-Rhyne Bears in dramatic comeback fashion in the South Atlantic Conference Semifinals, owning the 16-15 victory to clinch the program's first-ever SAC Championships berth.
"The effort was incredible tonight," said Head Coach Albert Mitchell. "I'm really proud of the way this team never gives up. We definitely weren't perfect tonight, but it's good to see what this team is made of, and we made the plays when we needed to. We're excited to get up to Matthews and have an opportunity to play for a championship."
Following a first-round bye, the two-seeded Trojans opened their SAC Tournament run on Wednesday evening, hosting the three-seeded Bears. The Bears made the trip to Anderson following a dominant quarterfinal win over six-seeded Catawba last weekend.
LR opened the scoring, putting two on the board before 2025 SAC Specialist of the Year, Trojan sophomore Aiden Dixon (Forest Hill, Md.), earned a faceoff win and immediately drove the ball home for the first of the night for the Black and Gold. Will Hazelhurst (Greenville, S.C.) brought the game back level off a pass from Anderson assist-leader Cole Sparks (West Islip, N.Y.). Q1 finished with Frankie Pagnotta (Hauppauge, N.Y.) and Radyn Badraun (Mission Viejo, Calif.) getting on the scoresheet. The game was even at four going into the second quarter.
The second fifteen started with the Bears going on a six-goal run in a span of five minutes. It was only a matter of time, however, before the momentum shifted in favor of the home team. A pair of goals from Badraun, combined with one from Max Calabrese (Auburn, Ga.), Ryan Butch (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Ryan Bitterman (Alpharetta, Ga.) brought Anderson back within one going into halftime.
The third quarter began with the Bears going on another unanswered scoring run, tacking on three to boost their advantage to 13-9. The Trojans again had an answer though, as Sparks got on the board, followed by goals from Matthew Rodgers (Carmel, Ind.), Bitterman, Badraun and PJ Fenchak (Lutherville Timonium, Md.). With six minutes left to play, the scoreline was level at 14.
The Bears again jumped ahead with 5:30 remaining on the clock, before Bitterman secured his hat trick on the night to tie the game at 15. A minute later, Rodgers found his second from the stick of Badraun to give the Trojans a one-goal lead with three minutes remaining. The Trojans withstood the efforts from the Bears to claim the 16-15 win and a spot in the SAC Championship.
Leading the stats on the night for the Trojans was 2025 All-SAC First-Team selection Badraun, who totaled four goals, two assists, three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
In goal for the Trojans, 2025 All-SAC Second-Team honoree Adin Laughlin (Wooster, Ohio) boasted a career-high 19 saves, 12 of which came in the first quarter.
Anderson will face the four-seed No. 10 Wingate Bulldogs at the Sportsplex in Matthews, N.C. for a shot at the SAC title. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 4 PM.
