February 14, 2009 (Minneapolis, MN)– Mark Manning scored 6 goals to lead the #3 BYU men's lacrosse team to a 13-11 victory over #6 ranked Minnesota-Duluth in the Chris Jenkins Invitational. The Cougars used a four goal run to end the first half, all four of which were from Manning, to take a lead they would never relinquish.

The first quarter started fast with the Cougars scoring three goals in the first 5 minutes to take a 3-0 lead. The Bulldogs battled back going on their own three goal run to even the score at three to end the first quarter. Riley Hales (Santa Ana, CA) opened the scoring for the Cougars with his first collegiate goal on an assist from Elliot Grow (Salt Lake City, UT) his first assist of 3 on the day.

The second quarter saw the Bulldogs gain their only lead of the day before Mark Manning and the Cougars went on a four goal run in the last six minutes of the half to take an 8-5 lead into the break. Manning credited the run to the team and how well they rode.

"We rode well today," said Manning, "which led to a lot of opportunities for me to score."

The Cougars held the Bulldogs to a 66% clear rate on the day going 32 of 48 for the game.

Neither team went on a run in the second half, and Duluth couldn't get closer than one goal the rest of the way with BYU gaining a three goal lead on several occasions including the final goal from Elliot Grow on a dodge from X to his left hand to put one past the Kenny Fleming, the Bulldog goaltender – and give the Cougars a 13-10 lead with 6:38 to play.

The Cougars outshot the Bulldogs 39-37 and only went 12 of 27 on face offs on the day. Neither team was very successful with an extra man on the field; the Cougars were 1 of 6 while the Bulldogs were 2 of 9 for the game. DJ Sullivan finished with 10 saves against 11 goals for the Cougars and the second win in a row for the first year starter.

The Cougars play the last game of the Chris Jenkins Invitational Monday morning at 10:30 against the Cougars 2007 National Championship opponent the University of Oregon.

2009-02-16