No. 1 Men's Lacrosse Stands Tall Over No. 3 Keiser (Fla.), 12-1

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

WALESKA, Ga. – A clash of NAIA titans in men's lacrosse turned into a runaway after the top-ranked Eagles dismantled No. 3 Keiser (Fla.), 12-1, in front of the home fans inside Ken White Field at University Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Gavin Banks and Conner Mills each netted three shots to lead the Reinhardt offense in scoring, and not far behind them was the duo of Zane Anderson and Tyler Chavous with two goals apiece.

The hometown team is now 2-0 and has outscored its opposition, 37-5, in the first two matchups of the season.

"Very proud of how my guys played today against a very good Keiser team," head coach John Snow said. "I thought my defense played outstanding… They were aggressive, made the proper slides when necessary and communicated very well. They played a smothering defense and didn't allow a goal for the final 50-plus minutes; impressive.

"Matt Webb [as usual] was huge in the cage – the ultimate safety blanket. Offensively, I thought we were efficient, controlled the pace of play and shared the ball. We had some nice individual goals also. Conner Mills, Zane Anderson and Tyler Chavous. Was also great to see our face-off kid, JR Sess, who was 10-of-15, get rewarded with a goal today. It was a great team win, and we are looking forward to a challenging road trip coming up."

The Eagles were able to jump ahead of the Seahawks, 2-0, in less than four minutes before Keiser got on the scoreboard for its lone tally at the 6:29 mark in the first period. Reinhardt would then respond with three-consecutive goals in the first quarter (5-1) and finish the afternoon on a 10-0 run.

Chavous found the back of the net in the opening minutes of the stanza two, as did Mills, who added his third score at 5:49 left before halftime. The 8-1 advantage would carry into the initial seconds of the third quarter before Banks stretched the lead to 9-1.

The last two minutes of the third saw another pair of tallies – Dillan Bousquet (2:03) and Chavous (:10) – as he joined JR Sess (first) in scoring in the final seconds of a period.

The fourth-and-final stanza was relatively quiet on both ends of the field, but Banks added another score with less than three minutes to go to lock up the final at 12-1.

In total, the Eagles picked up 28 ground balls and helped Keiser post 12 turnovers.

Matt Webb was dominant in the cage with 13 saves in a full 60 minutes of action.

Bousquet had a pair of assists in the victory as well.

The road doesn't get any easier for the nation's top team, as it looks ahead to an early March trip to Michigan to take on No. 2 Lawrence Tech.

Opening whistle is set for 4 p.m. on March 7.

For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram. 

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