Southwestern will advance to 3-1 on the season after pulling away from a tough Piedmont opponent late in the second half. The game was a physical battle from start to finish, highly contested until the Pirates' were able to gain control at the very end. 

The Pirates' had a fast start with three goals in the first three minutes of play. Freshman Matthew Sganga opened up the scoring for the Pirates on a well timed assist from Nick Doxey. Doxey had four assists alone in the first quarter, dishing the ball to Sganga, Blake Sitterly, Cade McDonald and Jack Doloszycki. The Pirates' ended the first quarter 5-2 off a rare right-handed Matthew Caldwell goal.

Doxey would continue his success, ending the half with five points. Midway through the second quarter Doxey lowered his shoulder into a Lions defender, breaking their stick in half and proceeding to score a close-angle shot. Despite Doxey's stellar half, the Lions' gained traction in the second, scoring three goals to cut the Pirate lead to 6-5 at the end of the half.

The Southwestern offense wasn't a one man show in the third quarter, they found a variety of ways to score off of different looks. Of the five goals the Pirates' scored in the third, each goal was assisted by a different player, showing their versatility on the offensive end. However, the Lions' wouldn't go away, scoring three goals and ending the third quarter with an uncomfortable 11-8 Pirates' lead. 

Despite the Lions' converting 50 percent of their man-up opportunities, the Pirates' made up for it in other facets of the game. The Pirates out ground-balled the Lions 44 to 28 and were able to clear over 90 percent, ensuring the Pirates' offense valuable possessions. Long-Stick Midfielder Tyler Santos would finish with 5 ground balls, Jake Hessinger with three, Aidan Gildea with three, and Will Thompson with two. 

The Lions' cut the lead to 10-11 early on in the fourth, but then came the turning point. Cody Foster decided he had enough of the Lions', scoring a fourth quarter hatrick and ensuring the Pirates' a 17-11 victory. Foster, the midfield/attackman hybrid, ended with four goals, Caldwell finished with four goals and one assist, and freshman Cade McDonald ended with his third three-goal game on the season. 

The Pirates' will face the Calvin Knights at home this Saturday, March 5th at 1:00 p.m.