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Shorter closes out lax roadie with 20-5 thumping of Bethany
BETHANY, WVa. -- Cole Tesh scored seven goals, Kyle Van Kauwenberg had five goals and two assists and Marc Morgan dished out five helpers as Shorter University concluded its four-game road trip with a 20-5 victory over host Bethany College in Bethany, WVa.
The Hawks (5-3) also got three goals and four assists from Mike Matthews en route to the victory, which evened Shorter's record during the roadie to 2-2.
Shorter dominated in every facet, outshooting the Bison 60-27 and holding a 62-50 advantage in ground balls.
The Hawks also won 22 of 27 face-offs to control the run of play and exploded for 14 goals in the second half.
Shorter led 6-2 at the half behind three strikes from Van Kauwenberg before Tesh went to work in the final 30 minutes.
Tesh scored three consecutive goals in the third period as Shorter outscored the Bison 4-0 in the frame to take control, then scored three more times in the fourth as the Hawks ended with a flurry.
Tesh's last two goals of the game came on man-up opportunities and off assists from Morgan. His final strike came with 4:30 left in the game and put Shorter up 19-4.
Shorter shared the ball effectively in one of its most complete performances of the season. The Hawks registered 12 assists on their 20 goals. Tesh even dished out a helper on Van Kauwenberg's fourth period strike.
Tesh and Rick O'Neal paced the Hawks with 12 and 11 ground balls, respectively. Jeff Gerlitz got the start between the pipes for Shorter and earned the win after recording 10 saves and allowing just three goals in 50 minutes of work.
Morgan scored twice for Shorter. O'Neal, Ryan Hurst and Hunter Rodgers also reached the scorebook for the Hawks in the win.
Shorter returns to action on Saturday, March 26 when they come back home to host Georgia Southern in a 2 p.m. start at Ben Brady Field.
