ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Adrian College men's lacrosse team used a dominant third quarter to break open a tight contest and secure a 13-7 victory over Wittenberg University on Saturday at the Sweebe Family Athletic Center.
Adrian was powered offensively by Trace Tidswell, who netted four goals, including a man-up tally in the third quarter and another score early in the fourth to help put the game out of reach. Braeden McNamara added three goals and an assist, while Austin Selvage recorded a four-point performance on two goals and two assists. Alec Winegar chipped in two goals and an assist in the victory.
The two sides traded blows early, finishing the first quarter knotted at 2-2. Tidswell scored twice in the opening frame, including the equalizer with 4:18 remaining.
The second quarter featured plenty of offense from both teams. After Adrian built a 5-3 lead midway through the period on goals from Selvage and McNamara, Wittenberg responded with three straight goals to take a 6-5 advantage. Winegar's goal with 20 seconds left before halftime evened the score at 6-6 heading into the break.
The Bulldogs took control in the third. Adrian erupted for five unanswered goals in the frame, beginning with McNamara's go-ahead strike just 1:25 into the half. David Harrison followed with an unassisted goal, and McNamara added another off a feed from Tyler Ristau. Tidswell capitalized on a man-up opportunity before Selvage buried a goal with one second remaining in the quarter to give Adrian an 11-6 cushion.
Defensively, goalkeeper Josiah Karnehm was stellar between the pipes, stopping 22 shots on the afternoon. The Bulldogs held Wittenberg scoreless in the third quarter and limited the Tigers to just one goal over the final 15 minutes.
Tidswell added his fourth goal early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 12-6, and Bradyn Parrott capped the scoring with a man-down goal in the final seconds, assisted by Karnehm.
Adrian finished with 48 shots, placing 22 on goal, while converting one of five extra-man opportunities. The Bulldogs also went 20-of-25 on clears in the win.
The Bulldogs improve to a 1-4 overall record and look to build off this win as they head out to Denison Tuesday, face-off set for 7:00 PM.
