LEXINGTON, Ky. — In their first-ever matchup, the Carthage men's lacrosse team took down Transylvania in a 9-6 game on the road at Pat Deacon Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Defense shined early, with the first goal coming 10 minutes into the competition, as Andrew Johnson put the Firebirds (9-4, 2-1 CCIW) on the board. However, a flurry of goals in the final five minutes of the first quarter would result in a 3-2 lead for Carthage by the first buzzer, with George Burchfield scoring a pair. After the Pioneers (9-4, 2-2 CCIW) tied the game at three early in the second period, Ben Krok responded with a goal to reclaim the lead, before Johnson scored twice more, finding the back of the net in the final seconds before halftime to put Carthage up 6-3 at the midway break.

Burchfield would score the lone goal of the third period, as the Firebird defense kept Transylvania off the board, before the sophomore scored his fourth of the game to open the final quarter. After Johnson gave Carthage a six-goal lead with 10 minutes remaining to play, the home team's comeback attempt fell short, as Carthage went on to win by three.

The Firebirds return home to Art Keller Field next, taking a break from their CCIW schedule, as they host Whittier College on Friday night, April 22 at 8 p.m.
 

Head Coach David Neff

"This was one of the biggest wins since I have been here at Carthage; I am so proud of our guys. We had players out, the team battled the flu all week, and we just asked the guys to play as hard as they could for sixty minutes and the score would take care of itself. Every member of the team brought it today and we beat a team that was easily one of the top three teams in our region and are playing as well as anyone. Transy was an overtime loss from being in the driver seat for a CCIW championship and we just played an unbelievable lacrosse game to get a big win."
 

Quick Facts

• Both George Burchfield and Andrew Johnson continue to pace the Firebirds' offense this season, as they both rank in the top-10 in conference in goals, assists, and total points per game after totaling four each today.
• Burchfield has contributed four or more points in four straight games now, averaging 2.75 goals and 2.25 assists per contest during that stretch.
• Sam Wallace continues to lead the Firebirds in caused turnovers, ranking second in the conference with 26 this year.
• Blake Raphael was stellar once again in goal today, collecting 14 saves, his seventh match with double-digit saves so far this season.

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