Reinhardt Steamrolls the Statesmen to Begin 2021

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

WALESKA, Ga. – Reinhardt men's lacrosse opened the 2021 season with an emphatic statement in the first-ever meeting with William Penn (Iowa) in a 25-4 rout inside Ken White Field at University Stadium on Thursday night.

The Eagles (1-0) were dominant in every sense of the word on their home turf after accumulating 61 shots, 25 goals and 14 assists in the win over the Statesmen.

"Very good start to the season," head coach John Snow said. "Proud of how my guys came out from the jump, a lot of energy, ran hard, dominated time of possession and controlled the pace of play. My faceoff kid (JR Sess) had a great game. It's always nice when you can play "make it, take it" lacrosse. Loved how my guys made it difficult for William Penn to clear the ball by being relentless between the lines.

"Offensively, we had a lot of guys score, which is great to see. Tough for defenses to key on one guy when we're sharing the ball and going hard to the cage. Happy with how my defense played when William Penn did have the ball… Good communication and they ran hard. Very good team win and can't wait to watch this team continue to get better."

Gavin Banks led all scorers with seven goals – four of which came in the opening period – as he helped the Eagles net six shots in the first quarter. Zane Anderson got the scoring spree started just over three minutes into the game, and Dillan Bousquet also got into the scorebook before Gavin Banks finished the stanza with three-consecutive scores.

The second quarter was much of the same for No. 1 Reinhardt, as it found the back of the net four more times in-a-row to pull out to a 10-0 lead with 4:30 left before halftime. A defensive breakdown and a nice shot attempt helped William Penn get on the board for the first time less than a minute later, but the Eagles finished the half on a 3-0 run to go to the locker room up, 13-1.

In the second stanza, Kyle Banks scored three times and Conner Mills twice.

Seven more tallies followed in the third period for the Eagles as they continued to dominate ball possession and fire at will on the goal. The Statesmen continued to have major trouble on the defensive end as Reinhardt got production from a wide variety of players.

The Eagles got their depth on the field in the fourth as both teams went back-and-forth on the scoreboard in the final period.

William Penn salvaged some of the evening in mop-up duty with three scores in the final 12:44.

Kyle Banks had five goals while Tyler Chavous, Mills and Bousquet (five assists) all had a trio of netted shots. Not to be outdone, Cameron Cochran added a pair of scores and three assists.

Anderson also had three dimes in the victory.

The Eagles won 30-of-33 faceoffs to set the tone of opening night.

The hometown club now has a couple weeks off before taking on NCAA Division II Flagler (Fla.) at home on Feb. 20.

Match is set for 1 p.m.

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For more information on Reinhardt Men's Lacrosse, please click here.