ANDERSON, S.C.–The Black and Gold kicked off a two-game homestretch on Wednesday evening with a statement win over No. 6 Newberry, defeating the Wolves 17-13.
“Great to see the heart of this team tonight on a short week,” said Head Coach Albert Mitchell. “We played inconsistent in a lot of phases, but we played complimentary lacrosse and made a lot of plays down the stretch.”
Brodie Deutsch (Wilmington, N.C.) and Cole Sparks (West Islip, N.Y.) combined for 11 points on the night, starting from the opening whistle with Sparks assisting Deutsch for the game’s first goal at 14:30. Three minutes later, the duo swapped roles, and Sparks got on the board. Deutsch then scored his second of three goals to surge the Trojans to a 3-0 lead.
Newberry bounced back with three goals of their own in the final five minutes of Q1 to wrap up the quarter at 3-3. The Wolves continued their scoring streak into the second fifteen minutes to take a 5-3 lead.
Halfway through Q2, Cooper Laughlin (Wooster, Ohio) made his offensive mark on the game, scoring off a pass from Frankie Pagnotta (Hauppauge, N.Y.), before assisting Nash Perry (Buford, Ga.). Sparks tallied the last goal of the half with six seconds on the clock, and the Trojans trailed the Wolves 7-6 at the break.
The third quarter saw Ryan Bitterman (Alpharetta, Ga.) score back-to-back goals to retake the lead for the home team. Newberry answered with two more for the game’s third lead change. Anderson then closed out Q3 with five-straight to take a 13-9 advantage into the final quarter.
The Wolves scored thrice to bring the game back within one, before the Trojans tallied four in a two-minute block to close out the game. No. 10 Anderson defeated No. 6 Newberry 17-13.
The four-goal game marked Bitterman’s fifth game this season with four or more goals, while Matthew Rodgers (Carmel, Ind.) picked up his second hattrick of the season.
In goal for the Black and Gold, Bobby Devenport IV (Grayslake, Ill.) logged a season-high 14 saves.
The Trojans are home again this Saturday (April 4), hosting Lincoln Memorial at noon.
Credit: autrojans.com

