MURFREESBORO, N.C. --- Tusculum University defeated Chowan University 17-11 in non-conference men's lacrosse Tuesday afternoon at Hawks Field.
Luke Bowen had two goals and five assists and Jayden Rios, Ben Hobday and Clay Mendez had three goals apiece for the Pioneers (2-0), who outshot the Hawks (0-2) by a 54-30 margin. Tusculum won 22 of the match's 30faceoffs and had a 43-26 advantage in ground balls over Chowan.
Ben Royer had two goals and two assists for the Pioneers, with two goals and an assist from Zach Afalla and one goal each from Blake Harrison and Traford Couchman. Chowan was led by five goals from Reed Low and two goals and an assist apiece from Todd Eagan and Justin Hill.
Rios was dominant on faceoffs for the Pioneers, winning 18 out of 23 and collecting nine ground balls. Harrison had six ground balls and four caused turnovers for the Pioneers, with three ground balls and two caused turnovers from Aiden Paczek.
Chowan went out to a 3-1 lead midway through the first quarter, but goals from Hobday and Mendez in the final two minutes brought Tusculum into a 3-3 tie after one period. The Pioneers would outscore the Hawks 5-1 in the second quarter, receiving goals from five different players in the frame to build an 8-4 lead at halftime.
Rios scored three goals in the third quarter, all directly off faceoff wins, as the Pioneers stretched their lead to 14-6 entering the final period. Eagan and Low would score two goals apiece as the Hawks cut the Pioneer lead to 15-11 with 6:25 left, but Bowen and Afalla would score in the final four minutes for the Pioneers to close out the scoring.
Tusculum was 0-for-4 with the extra man in the match while Chowan went 1-for-5 with the advantage. Chowan had 27 turnovers to 25 for Tusculum, and the Pioneers were 20-for-25 on clears while the Hawks were 19-for-28.
Garrett Smith had 12 saves in the first three quarters for the Pioneers, with one save for Ryan McKeown in the fourth quarter. Rocco Smith finished with 20 saves for the Hawks.
The Pioneers will travel to Thomas More to face the Saints on Saturday, Feb. 21 at noon. Thomas More is off to a 1-1 start this season after finishing with a 2-12 record during the 2025 campaign.
