english vs mercer
Mercer Athletics
14
Winner VMI VMI 2-1
11
Mercer MER 1-2
Winner
VMI VMI
2-1
14
Final
11
Mercer MER
1-2
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
VMI VMI 4 3 5 2 14
Mercer MER 1 3 3 4 11

Game Recap: Lacrosse |

Keydets topple Mercer on the road

MACON, Ga. – Led by five goals by senior Luke Rusterucci, the VMI lacrosse team defeated host Mercer University by a 14-11 score Saturday afternoon at Five Star Stadium in Macon, Georgia.
 
Once colleagues in the Southern Conference, the two schools took turns in each respective period outscoring the other as the Keydets (2-1) outlasted the Bears (1-2) in the final quarter.
 

 
Game Summary
VMI jumped to a 4-1 lead in the first quarter before each squad tallied three goals in the second for the Keydets to go in halftime with a 7-4 advantage. The Keydets were again dominant coming out of the break to log five goals in the third period to Mercer's three.
 
The Bears outscored VMI in the final period by a 4-2 goal count but the Keydets did enough harm over the first three stanzas to hang on for a hard-fought victory.
 
VMI Head Coach James Purpura
"I'm proud of the guys for finding a way to win against a strong opponent that didn't quit. I thought we started strong and took an early lead. We got a little careless and had some sloppy turnovers in the middle of the field. The game had some back-and-forth momentum swings, but ultimately we got it done.
 
"We struggled today at the face off X so we had to value possessions and efficiency. I thought offensively we did a nice job working for high percentage opportunities and capitalizing on them. Luke Rusterucci, what a story where as a kid being from the area, he used to be the ball boy at their games and got into lacrosse when Mercer added the sport. As a senior at VMI, he has a five-goal day to lead the offense.
 
"Scoring was spread out and our midfielders did a good job as Simon Moore, Ty Yonas, and Wil Duffy all had multi-point days. Defensively, we had to play a ton of possessions and dig in and I thought overall we had some big stops. RJ Wyrick scored a transition goal after a clear. When there was a breakdown, Damian Levin continues his great start to the year with a 22-save performance.
 
"Certainly, it wasn't a perfect game and there's a lot for us to continue to work on. We will watch the tape, make corrections and continue to work on our craft. It will be nice for us to get back home in front of our home fans for our next game."
 
Key Stats
*VMI's Luke Rusterucci tallied a season-high five goals in his native state of Georgia, his most since scoring six at Hampton last season. He has now scored at least one goal in 36 consecutive games dating back to his freshman year, the seventh-longest streak in the country, as he continues to climb up VMI's all-time leading scorers ladder. Rusterucci is now fifth all-time in goals and fourth in points
*Fellow senior Simon Moore earned two goals on the day as did sophomores Ty Yonas and Dayton Bagwell. Rusterucci and Bagwell both tallied eight shot attempts during the contest
*Senior goalie Damian Levin accounted for a career-high 22 saves to preserve the win for VMI, the most for a single game since the 2017 season
*Austin English, RJ Wyrick and Jack Duncan-Bloom each had one goal on the day
*The Keydets caused 10 turnovers on the day, including two from Alex Baber, Zac Creel, Jack Myhre and English
*Despite winning only seven face-offs during the game, the Keydets were effective in clearing the ball on 23 of 25 opportunities
*Dillon Bush led the Bears with four goals during the game on 15 shot attempts while seven others had solo goals
*Mercer goalie Rand Paddack tracked down 11 saves on the day for a .440 save percentage during a complete game in the cage
*VMI was outshot by a 52-35 count but was more effective in shot selection with 25 on frame to Mercer's 33 on frame
 
Up Next
VMI takes on in-state opponent Hampton University Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at Drill Field #2
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
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