Ravens Take Down LumberJacks

The Anderson University men's lacrosse team took down Northland College with an 11-9 victory on Tuesday at Macholtz Stadium.

"Several players stepped up and showed a lot of leadership," Coach Jacob Ashton said. "We controlled our emotions and took advantage of Northland's mistakes."

Anderson (1-3) locked up its second win in program history on Tuesday.

The LumberJacks (0-5) jumped out to a 4-0 start after the first quarter.

"We didn't start well and were down in the first quarter due to not taking care of the ball. We didn't win the ground ball battle at first and gave Northland extra opportunities to score."

The Ravens gained momentum and cut the deficit to 6-4 at halftime. Northland found the back of the net in the opening minute of the third quarter to extend its lead to three, but Anderson came back and took a 9-8 lead with 1 minute, 22 seconds left in the third quarter. The LumberJacks tied the game at 9-all with 9:11 left in the contest, but Tristan Wilbrandt and Landre Stemick each provided the goals to pull away from Northland.

"We have struggled offensively this season thus far, however we started clicking in the second quarter and found our groove.

Cole Whatley led the Ravens with four goals. The freshman from Green Bay, Wis. won 16-of-22 (72.7 percent) faceoffs. Whatley also recorded 20 shots, 15 shots on goal, 13 ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Stemick turned in four points on three goals and an assist. Johnathan Havener provided two goals. Wilbrandt and Gage Jones each put together a goal and an assist. Josh Ekberg dished out two assists.

Havener took 11 shots. Wilbrandt and Stemick tallied four shots apiece. Jones and Alex Warren turned in two shots each. Grant Miller and Ekberg also added shots. Havener registered seven shots on goal. Stemick notched three shots on goal.

Ekberg collected 12 ground balls while Havener and Fisher picked up five ground balls apiece. Warren won the only faceoff he took. Ekberg also created four turnovers.

Eric Fisher saved 12 of the 21 shots he faced.

"It was a very well-rounded win. Cole dominated at the faceoff X, Colt Comiskey was a beast on defense, we scored on transition and shut down several of Northland's best scorers, defensively."

Anderson won 17-of-23 (73.9 percent) faceoffs as a team.

The LumberJacks committed 24 turnovers while the Ravens turned the ball over 23 times.

Anderson cleared 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) attempts while Northland finished 10-of-20 (50 percent) clears.

"To be down by four in the first half and then again by three to start the second half, to stay composed and earn a win such as this shows how much heart this young team has. I'm very proud of our young team."

The Ravens challenge Calvin University (2-1) on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Macholtz Stadium.