LYNCHBURG, Va.- The Randolph men's lacrosse team hosted Averett in an ODAC contest on Wednesday afternoon at WildCat Stadium. The two teams battled it out over 60 minutes of play but the Cougars would edge out the WildCats 14-12.

The Cougars struck first in the opening quarter with a goal at the 10:46 mark to take a 1-0 lead. Randolph evened the game at 9:13 as Chase Callan (Fredericksburg, Va.) assisted Leyton Brightly (Spotsylvania, Va./James Monroe). Averett ended the period with two more goals to lead 3-1.

Averett tallied its fourth goal less than a minute into the second quarter to increase its lead to 4-1. Randolph responded with a flurry of goals as it scored five times and the WildCats would overtake the Cougars to lead 6-4 at the break.

In the third quarter, Averett made it a one-score game at the 14:08 mark. Three straight goals by the 'Cats, however, would increase the Randolph advantage to four goals just under the 11-minute mark. Averett countered with a four-goal response to even the game at 9-9 with 5:01 left in the quarter. The WildCats took a 10-9 lead on a Nathan Pradachith (Alexandria, Va./Edison HS) solo goal with 4:46 left on the clock. Averett tied it up 30 seconds later and then scored twice more to lead 12-10 heading into the final quarter of play.

Averett's lead grew to 14-10 with 11:24 remaining in regulation. Randolph clawed its way back with goals by Harrison Briggs (Wells, ME/Wells High) and Ethan Caldwell (Santa Fe, N.M./Santa Fe Prep School) the latter occurring with 1:46 remaining. The WildCats nearly pulled to within a goal less then 30 seconds later but Michael Baldwin's (Culpepper, Va./Liberty HS) shot attempt hit the crossbar. The WildCats would not get another shot attempt as time expired.

Caldwell had a five-point day with three goals and two assists. Callan scored once and assisted on three goals. Brightly scored twice and picked up two assists. He also had three groundballs and a caused turnover. Baldwin and Briggs both scored twice. Pradachith and Noah Callahan (Bristow, Va./Brentsville District) had one goal each.

Pradachith led in groundballs with eight and was 14-of-19 on faceoffs. Adam Ulffers (Greenville, N.C./J.H Rose HS) started in goal and finished with 14 saves.

Randolph returns to WildCat Stadium when it hosts Randolph-Macon. Game time will be at 4:00 p.m.