(MISENHEIMER , NC) - The 2024 USA South Men's Lacrosse tournament has come to a close on the campus of Pfeiffer University with the host, top-seed, Falcons taking the championship for the second consecutive year and the third time in their program's history. Pfeiffer grabbed a 20-17 victory over second-seeded Piedmont in the highest-scoring championship game in Conference history.

Pfeiffer jumped out to an early lead by scoring the game's first five goals in just over eight minutes. Piedmont answered with the next two scores to make it 5-2 Pfeiffer after the first 15 minutes. In the second quarter, the Lions opened the scoring just to see Pfeiffer answer with two goals before another Piedmont tally was followed by two more Falcon goals yet again. Piedmont finished the second quarter strong by scoring three straight goals to make the halftime score 9-7 Pfeiffer. Piedmont would take their first lead of the game, 10-9, with just under ten minutes to play in the third quarter thanks to three consecutive scores. Pfeiffer stormed back with four straight goals before the teams traded consecutive goals to conclude the third quarter with a 16-14 Pfeiffer advantage. In the final stanza, Piedmont got to within one goal with 7:42 remaining but the Falcons were able to hold on thanks to not allowing another goal after that while notching two of their own.

Pfeiffer was led offensively by Trent Orr who scored a game-high five goals with four assists. Mason Tardiff also added four helpers while Quinn Becraft scored four times. Defensively, Nick Pekins grabbed a game-high seven ground balls while Brandon Luft and Davis Russell added three caused turnovers each. In goal, Oliver Buch made 12 saves for the Falcons. For Piedmont, Michael Anderson and Ian Parr each scored a team-high four goals each while Johnny Matrona stopped 11 shots for the Lions.

All-Tournament Team

Attack
Zach DeFazio, Pfeiffer (MVP)
Gabe King, Southern Virginia
Brady McGuire, Piedmont

Midfield
Michael Anderson, Piedmont
Tyler Finley, Pfeiffer
Trent Orr, Pfeiffer

Defense
Tobias Ballester, Pfeiffer
Andrew Pagano, Piedmont
Davis Russell, Pfeiffer

Goalie
Oliver Buch, Pfeiffer

Long-Stick Midfielder
Mason Tardiff, Pfeiffer

Short-Stick Defensive Midfielder
Nick Pekins, Pfeiffer

Faceoff Specialist
Elias Solano, Pfeiffer

2024 USA South Men's Lacrosse Tournament Results

First Round - Tuesday, April 30 (contests hosted by higher-seeded team in each matchup) 
Game 1: #5 LaGrange - 12   #4 Methodist - 16
Game 2: #6 Greensboro - 11   #3 Southern Virginia - 18

Semifinals - Thursday, May 2 (all contests played at Pfeiffer University)
#4 Methodist - 6   #1 Pfeiffer - 20
#3 Southern Virginia - 13   #2 Piedmont - 18

Final - Saturday, May 4 (played at Pfeiffer University)
#2 Piedmont - 17   #1 Pfeiffer - 20