Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Midfielders Dakota Rohlin and Eric Applegate combined for seven goals but their efforts weren't enough to overcome High Point's Dan Lomas and Matt Thistle as the Jacksonville University men's lacrosse fell to the Panthers, 14-10, in a Southern Conference game at High Point, N.C., Saturday.
Rohlin had four goals and Applegate a hat trick, but Lomas responded with five and Thistle four as JU fell to 3-8 (1-4 in the SoCon) for the season.
Facing a 3-0 deficit in the first period, Applegate, a freshman from Ponte Vedra Beach, got the Dolphins on the board with his first and teammate Evan Tyler followed that less than three minutes later with a goal that cut the HPU (7-5, 3-2) lead to 3-2.
Lomas, the 38th pick in this year's Major League Lacrosse draft who had five goals for the game, scored for the second time with 15 seconds to play in the first and JU then fought back to cut the lead to 5-4 at half.
JU tied at seven with 9:35 to play in the third when Rohlin connected on back-to-back scores but the Panthers scored six consecutive goals, three by Thistle, for a 13-7 lead. Thistle also was picked in the MLL draft this year.
Rohlin with two more goals and Applegate with a single got the Dolphins to 13-10 before Thistle ended the scoring with 1:11 to play.
"We fought like crazy and tried hard and held them at bay for a while,'' JU head coach Guy Van Arsdale said, "but they were just too much to overcome. We had a lot of guys play well on the offensive end but our shot selection could have been a little more discerning.''
JU's Shawn Ewert had three assists on the day and teammates Chase Miller and Doran Graham also scored.
High Point took 53 shots at JU goal keeper Ben Gleichenhaus and the sophomore was credited with 15 saves. He leads the nation in saves per game with 14.
Scott Cannon and Ryan Beville led the JU defensive effort with five and three ground balls each and Cannon caused two turnovers.
"Cannon had a career day and played great on the defensive end,'' Van Arsdale. "The team showed improvement but it wasn't enough to get the W, but our guys just won't roll over.''
JU finishes its regular season with a pair of home games beginning next week against Mercer and followed on April 30 when Air Force comes to town.
"We're happy to have the last two at home,'' Van Arsdale said. "Mercer is always a big rival and we'll be excited for that one next week.''
