MARS HILL, N.C.— The Montreat men's lacrosse team headed north to Mars Hill, N.C. for a non-conference road matchup against the Mars Hill University Lions Wednesday night. Facing off against the NCAA Division II foe, the Cavaliers fell on the wrong side of a 19-6 final and dropped to 1-6 on the year.
 
Mars Hill (3-9) won all five faceoffs in the opening quarter, and the hosts capitalized on their extended spells of possession with all four of the frame's goals. The Lions notched their initial tally just 39 seconds into the contest, and they extended their lead out to 4-0 by the quarter's end. Ben Stephenson and Jake Mrozienski combined to place a trio of shots on target in the period, but the Mars Hill goalkeeper saved all three attempts.
 
Johnny Miles registered Montreat's first faceoff win of the night early in the second quarter, but MHU controlled the period overall. Scoring the first five goals of the frame, the Lions built their edge up to 9-0 with just four minutes remaining in the half. Stephenson got the Cavaliers on the board with a man-up goal assisted by Brayden Hittle at the 2:53 mark, but the hosts struck back with two seconds left and entered the break up 10-1.
 
Through 30 minutes of action, Mars Hill owned advantages in shots (28-7), shots on goal (20-5), ground balls (34-10) and faceoffs won (10-1). Jay Chance made 10 saves prior to the intermission, while Stephenson recorded four the Cavs' five shots on frame.
 
Stephenson and Hittle teamed up again for Montreat's second man-up goal of the game, but nine MHU goals in the third period gave the hosts a 19-2 lead over the Cavaliers with just 15 minutes to go.
 
Montreat added four goals in the fourth thanks to several sequences of quality passing. Hittle totaled his third assist of the night when he set up Mrozienski for a Cav goal just 1:40 into the final quarter. Mrozienski, Miles and Justin Holland then notched assists on three consecutive Stephenson goals as the Pompano Beach, Fla. native finished off his hat trick with ease; however, despite the late flurry of goals, the Cavaliers ultimately lost the matchup, 19-6.
 
The Lions finished the night with more shots (53-22), shots on goal (35-16), ground balls (61-27) and faceoffs won (21-6). Stephenson led all players with five goals, and Hittle paced all participants with three assists. Defensively, Chance made 16 stops in net.
 
The Montreat men's lacrosse team returns home on Saturday to host the No. 3-ranked Reinhardt University Eagles in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Pulliam Stadium in Black Mountain, N.C.