WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. — Madonna University used a relentless second-half surge and a balanced scoring attack to pull away from No. 5 Cumberlands (Ky.) in a 21-6 road victory Thursday afternoon at the UC Lacrosse Complex.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Crusaders turned a 7-2 halftime lead into a rout by outscoring the Patriots 14-4 over the final two quarters, seizing control behind a 7-2 third quarter that proved decisive. Madonna's offense spread the production across the lineup, with four different players recording hat tricks and the Crusaders converting four man-up opportunities to keep steady pressure on the Cumberlands defense.

Rico Hart and Cooper Regimbal led Madonna with matching five-point efforts, each finishing with four goals and one assist. Jackson Gradstein added three goals and two assists, and Spencer Guppy registered a perfect shooting day with three goals on seven shots on goal. The Crusaders fired 52 shots overall and 37 on frame, compared with 37 shots and 20 on goal for Cumberlands.

Madonna set the tone early with special teams. The Crusaders struck first at 10:38 of the opening quarter when Reid Dunavant scored a man-up goal off a feed from Gradstein for a 1-0 lead. After Nathan Cook briefly pulled Cumberlands even at 1-1, Hart answered with 1:59 left in the first to send Madonna into the second quarter up 2-1. Regimbal opened the second with another strike for a 3-1 advantage, and after Will Rogers cut the deficit to 3-2, Madonna closed the half on a key 4-0 run, capped by Regimbal's late goal at 1:14 that made it 7-2 at the break.The third quarter removed any doubt. Guppy's man-up goal just 54 seconds into the period pushed the margin to 8-2, and Madonna continued to capitalize on extra-man chances when Benjamin Reidy scored on the advantage at 11:50 off a Regimbal assist. Gradstein's tally at 3:25 extended the lead into double digits at 11-3, and Regimbal beat the buzzer with four seconds left in the quarter to send the Crusaders into the fourth leading 14-4.

Madonna did not ease up in the final 15 minutes, again scoring seven times in the quarter. Matthew DiSalle and Guppy each scored early in the fourth to maintain control, with Guppy later adding another man-up goal at 8:35, assisted by Gradstein, to make it 19-6. Gradstein closed out the scoring at 5:32 on a setup from Reidy, creating the final 21-6 margin and underscoring the Crusaders' offensive depth.

The Crusaders also controlled the game in the middle of the field, winning 21 faceoffs to just 9 for Cumberlands and holding a 39-23 advantage in ground balls. Faceoff specialist Elvis Syrotka was central to that dominance, winning 12 draws and collecting nine ground balls while chipping in a goal and two assists. Madonna finished 4-for-? on the power play (four power-play goals reported) while holding the Patriots without a man-up goal.
On the back end, goalkeeper Jonathan Bendfeldt went the distance for Madonna, allowing six goals while making 14 saves on 20 shots on goal. Cumberlands split time in net between Nathan Foskey and Jack Bichsel, who combined for 16 saves against the Crusaders' 37 shots on target.

UP NEXT:
With the road win, Madonna closed out a complete performance built on possession, special-teams efficiency and a multi-pronged scoring effort that powered the Crusaders past the Patriots. The Crusaders will be back in action on Saturday, February 28th as they head to Montreat, North Carolina to take on Montreat College. The game is set to start at 4:00 PM.