Friday March 26th was clear with temperatures in the 60s as the University of Tennessee Lacrosse team returned to action against the Tigers of Clemson University. The Vols lineup continued to evolve as mounting injuries mandated a new look on the field. Notably the matchup saw Laurence Tilley and Chris Bicsak move to Midfield from the Attack position.
The game started off slowly with the first score not coming until 7:13 in the first as Vol Attackman Gray Fuller put on in from two yards out on the left. The Tigers didn’t stay quiet long, answering with a score of their own at 7:04. The next Vol score cam at 5:30 as Mike Samarin scored from five yards out. The Vols continued to roll as Jeff Matus fed Bryan “Harvard” Powers for the score at 3:35. Chris Bicsak scored from six yards on the right with a bounce shot at 2:40 to finishing the period.
The Vols cooled off a bit to begin the second but the Tigers were not able to mount any offense as the scoring was All Vol and Mostly Miller with Miller Sylvan contributing scores at 9:32, 6:15, and 48.4. Gray Fuller got into the action again, rocketing one in from three yards on the left.
The Tigers scored first after the break at 13:45 in the third period. The Vols extended their lead and brought the game to 9-2 at 10:09 as Chris Bicsak took a Gray Fuller pass and rifled the ball to the net while in heavy traffic on the left side. Harvard Powers got back into action with two scores at 6:25 and 3:08 to end the third period scoring.
Clemson put one in quickly to move the score to 11-3. The Vols put their last one in for the night as Matt Wagner scored just after a whistle at 11:28. The Tigers answered quickly at 11:11 from the right side but the late score was just a footnote as the Vols saw Rich Hohenbrink relieve A.J. Howland for the fourth and allow two goals on nine shots with three saves.
The Vols return to action Sunday March 28 at home against the Florida Gaytors at 1pm.