FULTON, Mo. – The Columbia College men's lacrosse team survived a second-half surge by William Woods University to hold on for a 10–9 victory Wednesday evening in Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) action at Fulton, Mo. With the win, the Cougars improve to 10-5 overall and 7-2 in conference play.
Columbia wasted no time asserting itself, with William Rusk opening the scoring at the 2:19 mark of the first quarter on an unassisted goal. The Owls tied the game with three seconds remaining in the period on an Ethan NewMyer tally, setting the stage for a back-and-forth affair.
The second quarter saw Columbia build a commanding lead before William Woods fought back. Nico Andrews got things started off a Brock Pleis assist, and Drake Morrissey followed with back-to-back goals — one off a feed from Adam Spriggs and one unassisted — to push the Cougar lead to 4–1. The Owls responded with consecutive goals from Collis Rhodes and NewMyer to make it a one-goal game at 4–3, but Columbia immediately answered. Morrissey completed his hat trick off a Will Rivenburgh assist and Dylan Forbeck added an unassisted goal in the final two minutes to send the Cougars into halftime ahead 6–3.
The third quarter saw the Owls claw back into contention. NewMyer and Joey Weingardt each found the net for William Woods, but Brock Pleis answered with a Jack McDowell-assisted goal and Nico Andrews added an unassisted tally to keep the Cougars in front 8–5. A late man-up goal by Rhodes made it 8–6 heading into the fourth.
Columbia came out of the fourth quarter with urgency, with Pleis burying back-to-back goals in the opening 90 seconds to push the lead to 10–6. William Woods refused to fold, however, with Rhodes and NewMyer — the latter on a man-up conversion — finding the net over a frantic final seven minutes to make it a one-goal game with under three minutes to play. Goalkeeper Bryce Peltier and the Cougar defense held firm the rest of the way to secure the hard-fought win.
Pleis led all scorers with three goals and an assist for four points, while Morrissey matched him with three goals of his own. Andrews chipped in two goals, and Rusk and Forbeck each added one. McDowell, Rivenburgh, Jacob Studer, Spriggs, and Pleis each recorded an assist. For William Woods, Rhodes and NewMyer were relentless, each finishing with four goals as the duo combined for eight of the team's nine scores.
Kail Mattis controlled the faceoff X for Columbia, winning 15 of 22 draws to consistently put the ball back in Cougar hands. Columbia held the ground ball advantage 33–27, while William Woods held a significant shot advantage on the night, 52–40, reflecting the Owls' persistent push — particularly in the second half — that Peltier and the Cougar defense kept at bay.
Peltier went the full 60 minutes in cage for Columbia, making 15 saves to earn the victory. Drew Stubblefield matched him with 15 saves in a losing effort for William Woods.
