ST. LOUIS  – In a rainy clash between the two preseason favorites in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, No. 12 Maryville men's lacrosse pulled away late to down No. 10 Lewis 14-10. Justin Simonson recorded eight points on four goals and four assists to pace the Saints attack. Colin Tobias and Chris Anderson both tallied hat tricks for the Maryville offense. At No. 10, Lewis is the highest ranked opponent Maryville has defeated in program history. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Saints roared out of the gate and scored the first four goals, as Simonson had a hand in all four tallies. He scored off the initial faceoff for a 1-0 lead nine seconds into the game. The Saints won the next faceoff, and Simonson fed Clayton Cerett for Maryville's second goal 40 ticks into the contest. Simonson found the back of the net again to push the Saints to a 3-0 margin. Simonson fed Colin Tobias for another score at the 9:50 mark as the Saints took a 4-0 advantage. Lewis sandwiched a pair of goals around a score by Ben Mickett but the Saints answered with two of their own. Tobias struck again, and Chris Anderson fired in a goal for a 7-2 lead after one quarter.
 
Lewis scored to open the second but Trent Zimay notched a goal as Maryville went up 8-3. However, the Flyers used a strong finish to the quarter with five of the next six goals. Tobias had a score to break up the Lewis push as the Saints took a 9-8 lead at halftime.
 
The visitors eventually tied the game at 9-9 but Simonson put the Saints back on top with a man-up goal midway through the third. Anderson found the net, for what would prove to be the eventual game winner, as the Maryville margin grew to 11-9 heading into the fourth.
 
Jake Grebe tallied just 13 seconds into the fourth on another man-up opportunity. Lewis pulled one goal back to make it 12-10 but Anderson completed his hat trick for a crucial score. Simonson rocketed in his fourth of the day to put the game out of reach with 2:23 remaining. The Maryville defense forced Lewis into 27 turnovers, and the Saints won 16-of-25 at the faceoff dot.
 
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Goals: Justin Simonson - 4
Assists: Justin Simonson - 4
Points: Justin Simonson - 8
Ground Balls: John Chorlton - 6
Caused Turnovers: Tyler Jerstad - 3
Faceoff Wins: Shea Raeburn and Andrew Skifstad - 8
Saves: Dylan Radke - 1
 
RECORDS
No. 12 Maryville: 8-3, 2-0 GLVC
No. 10 Lewis : 9-3, 1-1 GLVC
 
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Saints continue their GLVC homestand as they host Quincy Saturday, April 12, for an 11 a.m. contest.
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