Taylor Opens WHAC Play with Big Road Win

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – Following a familiar script, No. 8 Taylor rode a strong second-half performance to a 14-6 win at Lawrence Tech on Wednesday. The Trojans outscored LTU by a 10-2 margin after the break, scoring their first-ever win over the Blue Devils and earning a fifth win in the first six matches of the season for the first time in program history.

TU has outscored its opposition in the second half in all five of its wins this season, winning the scoreboard by a 44-20 margin after the half in those outings and holding a 49-25 scoring advantage after the half so far this season.

On Wednesday, the Trojans battled to a 4-4 draw over the first 30 minutes of action. The Purple and Gray leaned on the power play to ignite the attack, getting man-up scores from Will Saxby, Kaden Mast and Henry Cooper, before Cooper capped the scoring with an unassisted goal to draw TU even.

Taylor got things rolling out of the intermission, finding the back of the LTU (1-4, 0-1 WHAC) net on seven-of-19 shots in the third period to blow the game open. TU continued its roll in the final 15 minutes, scoring three of the four goals in the period to put the game away.

Cooper closed the win with a season-high six goals to go with one assist, while Jackson Dale and Saxby each scored three goals of their own and teamed for a trio of assists. Dale also added three ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Lucas Pacer highlighted TU's best defensive showing of the season, helping the Trojans limit LTU to six goals while logging four caused turnovers and eight ground balls. Ben Harrell was good once again in goal, stopping 12 on-target shots.

No. 8 Taylor (5-1, 1-0 WHAC) will play five of its next six contests at home, beginning on Saturday, March 14, when it hosts No. 10 Indiana Tech (2-2, 0-0 WHAC) for a 1:00 pm start at Wheeler Field.