BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— The Montreat men's lacrosse team took an early 5-0 advantage but failed to hold on against the University of Michigan at Dearborn Wolverines at Pulliam Stadium Saturday afternoon, falling to the visitors by a final score of 8-7. With the tight defeat, the Cavaliers fell to 0-4 on the season.
 
Montreat started strong as Ben Stephenson tallied a pair of goals midway through the first quarter to put the Cavs up 2-0. Jake Mrozienski and Johnny Miles added scores as the edge grew to four after 15 minutes of action.
 
Connor Walsh then added his first goal of the game 1:25 into the second period, giving the home side its largest lead of the competition; however, the Wolverines responded in a major way. Two Dearborn goals brought the score to 5-2, but Stephenson completed his hat trick by finishing off a feed from Miles to help the Cavaliers maintain a 4-goal lead (6-2) at the break.
 
Though UM-Dearborn (1-2) took more shots than Montreat in the opening half (22-10), the Cavs were extremely more efficient on offense, placing six shots on frame compared to the visitors' five. The Wolverines won more faceoffs (6-3), but Jay Chance secured three saves to give his team the edge heading into the latter quarters.
 
A winless Dearborn team made a change in net at the beginning of the second half, and it paid dividends in the third period. The Cavaliers' counterparts stormed back, scoring four goals over just 7:00 to knot the matchup at six before registering a tally with 2:32 remaining in the frame to lead for the first time. Walsh collected his second goal of the afternoon a mere 10 seconds later to tie the game at seven with 15 minutes on the clock.
 
In the end, the Wolverines recorded the lone goal of the final frame, a strike with 13:21 left in the contest, to secure their first win of the season. Five second-half saves propelled the visitors to the lead, and a late penalty against Montreat sealed its fate in the 8-7 decision.
 
Michigan-Dearborn doubled the Cavs in shot attempts (48-20) but placed only four more tries on net (16-12). The Wolverines also held a slight advantage in ground balls (40-33) and a distinct edge in faceoff wins (12-5).
 
Four different Cavaliers scored, and three recorded multiple points led by the duo of Stephenson (3G) and Walsh (2G,1A). Chance made five second-half saves in goal to finish with eight total stops.
 
Men's lacrosse now hosts Lourdes University at Pulliam Stadium on Friday looking for its first win of 2023. Game time is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.