Joseph Marvin: Assistant Sports Information Director
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Brevard College Tornados Men's Lacrosse team (2-1) knocked in 21 goals while senior goalie Peyton Mooney set single-game school goalkeeping records as the Tornados picked up a 21-7 non-conference win over fellow NCAA DIII Randolph College (0-1) on Saturday evening.
Senior attackers Hewitt Farr and Jackson McKaig led Brevard's goal explosion, scoring 14 of the Tornados' 21 total goals.
Farr tallied eight goals and one assist for a total of nine points on the evening. Farr's 20 points and 18 goals are tops in the USA South Conference during the first few weeks of regular season action.
Fellow senior McKaig lit up the Randolph Wildcats for six goals and six assists for a total of 12 points. McKaig's 10 assists in 2019 rank first in the USA South.
Freshman Steve Trejo left his mark in a big way, tallying a new career-high mark with three assists.
Seniors Jack Shade and Paxton Brown along with junior Joel Vacchiano recorded two goals each to wrap up Brevard's scoring efforts.
Mooney had a historic day for the Tornados in goal. The senior goalkeeper out of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada recorded 22 saves, a mark that set a new career-high. Mooney's 22 saves came on 27 shots-on-goal, which translates to an 81.5% save percentage. That percentage sets a new Brevard College program-record for single-game save percentage (minimum 10 shots faced).
Freshman goalkeeper Devin McCarragher came on in relief for Mooney, making his first collegiate appearance. McCarragher recorded his first collegiate save on his first shot faced on goal.
The Tornados enjoyed a solid 26-for-30 day on clears, compared to Randolph's 8-for-9. Brevard racked up 24 saves, a number that dwarfed Randolph's seven on the evening.
Senior captain Shade got things going early for Brevard as he fired in the game's first goal unassisted. Shade's was the first of four-straight BC goals in the first stanza, as McKaig, Shade, and Farr racked up early goals that gave the Tornados a 4-0 lead with 4:28 left in the first quarter.
Randolph would take advantage of a BC faceoff violation to get on the board at the 3:41 mark. Following a BC faceoff win, Randolph forced a Tornado turnover that it turned into its second-straight goal, cutting Brevard's lead to 4-2 with 2:57 left.
However, the Tornados were not deterred. Three-straight goals to end the quarter by McKaig, Brown, and Farr extended BC's advantage to 7-2 as the game entered its second period.
After a penalty on McKaig, Randolph committed two penalties of its own that left Brevard with a man up. BC capitalized, as a Trejo pass found Farr, who drove the shot home to push Brevard up 8-2.
In impressive fashion, the Tornados were able to kill 3:30 of penalty time without surrendering a goal, including 60 seconds where both Vacchiano and Raheem Brown were sidelined at the same time, leaving BC two men down at the 2:21 mark in the second quarter.
The Tornados scored three more goals in-a-row to extend their lead to 11-2 before Randolph finally found an answer. Randolph's goal at the 5:31 mark proved to be the half's last goal, as the Tornados held an 11-3 lead at the intermission.
Brevard was not satisfied with its eight-goal lead, as the Tornados outscored the WildCats 5-1 in the third period for a 16-4 advantage.
With the match sitting at 17-5, the Tornados enjoyed one final scoring burst as Farr connected twice more, while McKaig and Vacchiano found the back of the net as well. Randolph scored twice to close the game out, but the contest was well out of reach. The Tornados head back to the mountains of Western North Carolina with a dominant 21-7 victory.
The Tornados will return to action next Saturday, February 23 as they head up to Frederick, Maryland to take on another quality NCAA DIII non-conference opponent in Hood College. The action is set to begin at 1 p.m.
To follow along with all the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Athletics, please follow the Tornados on Twitter and Instagram @bctornados, subscribe to 'Brevard College Tornados'' on YouTube, follow 'Brevard College Tornados' on SoundCloud, or like Brevard College Athletics on Facebook.
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