Men's Lacrosse Falls to Methodist Monarchs 12-7

The Knights traveled to the campus of Methodist University in Fayetteville, NC for a non-conference match against the Methodist Monarchs. A back and forth contest between the sides provided a great game between the two sides, however a second half push from the Monarchs ensured that they would take the final victory by a final score of 12-7.

Sean Greiner (Marietta, GA) kicked off the proceedings as his early shot whistled into the back of the Monarch net for an unassisted goal and the first goal of the contest in the opening three minutes of play. 

After some back and forth midfield battles that saw a plethora of turnovers and ground balls, the Monarchs were able to get on the board and level things up at one apiece with 5:52 remaining in the opening quarter. 

The Knights were able to retake the lead when Conan Hochburger (Marietta, GA) scored off of a beautiful pass from midfielder Alex Thrift. The Monarchs would be able to respond yet again as a late first quarter goal once again tied the game at two apiece. 

As the second quarter kicked off, the Knights found instant success as Alex Thrift was able to score in the opening 15 seconds of play. Just three minutes later, Sean Greiner was able to score his second goal of the match to give the Knights a 4-2 lead with 11:34 remaining in the quarter.

The next 10 minutes became all Methodist as they were able to score four unanswered goals after forcing the Knights into untimely turnovers and winning a majority of the faceoff battles as well. Going into the half, the Knights would be staring at a 6-4 deficit, and would be looking to make a statement out of the halftime break. 

The Monarchs were able to open the half with a goal within the first 30 seconds when RJ Breeden found the net for Methodist. Midfielder Wesley Ilg (Fuquay-Varina, NC) answered back for the Knights off of a beautiful feed pass from Tyree Cummings (Powder Springs, GA). With 3:09 remaining in the quarter, Hunter Vaughan was able to find the net for Methodist, as the Monarchs would hold an 8-5 lead heading into the final frame. 

Looking for a comeback in the final quarter, things didn't go as planned for the Knights as the Monarchs were able to score the first three goals of the fourth quarter to improve their lead to 11-5 with 4:24 remaining in the contest. 

Jonah Rossi (Pinehurst, NC) and Dylan Sawyer (Lexington, SC) each found late game goals for the Knights, however the Monarchs would be able to hold on to the 12-7 final victory at the sound of the final horn. 

Next up for the Knights will be their first AAC Conference matchup as they travel to Waleska, GA to take on (1) Reinhardt University on Saturday, February 25th. The contest is scheduled to begin at 2:00 PM.