DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's lacrosse team defeated Flagler 14-8 in the season-opening game for both teams, Friday evening at the ERAU Lacrosse Field. The game was played in front of a record crowd of 741 at the Eagles' home field and was the first game in history for the new Flagler program.
Christian Hofer paced the Eagle offense with five points on three goals and a pair of assists and 10 players registered at least one point in ERAU's first game since March 5, 2020.
Scoring was at a premium in the first period with the Eagles and the Saints managing just two goals each.
Coleman Jacobs scored the Eagles' first goal of the season to break a scoreless tie with a goal at the 13:39 mark.. Three minutes later Ty Tom made program history for the Saints scoring the program's first goal to level the score at 1-1-. The Saints led briefly courtesy of a goal with 7:40 left, but the Eagles answered and, at the end of the first quarter, the score was tied at 2-2.
Lars Hoeg opened a five-goal second period for the Blue and Gold with his first of two goals on the night. The Eagles outshot the Saints 10-6 in the second frame and at the half, the ERAU lead was 7-2.
End-to-end action marked the third quarter that saw both teams combine for six goals. At the 6:42 mark, Hofer extended the Eagle advantage to six points (8-2), and a scant eight seconds later, the redshirt freshman struck again, widening the gap to 9-2.
Following Hofer's second goal of third, Flagler called a timeout to regroup. The Saints responded with three unanswered goals and heading into the final quarter, the Eagle lead was back to five, 10-5.
Embry-Riddle pushed the lead back to seven goals at 12-5 before a fourth-quarter spurt pulled the Saints back within five. The teams traded goals over the next 6:49, but
Jared Kane capped the scoring with his second goal of the evening with eight seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Blue and Gold.
The Eagles have a two-week layoff until their next game which will be at home against Alabama-Huntsville. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.
