BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— The Montreat men's lacrosse team wrapped up its 2023 home schedule with a competition against the Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs at Pulliam Stadium Thursday afternoon. Montreat struck first, but the Bulldogs ultimately took a 17-6 game, moving the Cavaliers to 1-10 overall and 1-6 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) action.
 
Brayden Hittle got the Cavs on the board first 2:38 into the contest; however, a string of three straight TWU tallies put the visitors up by two midway through the initial quarter. Ben Stephenson then cut the deficit in half with his 23^rd goal of the season as the Cavaliers trailed 3-2 after 15 minutes of play.
 
Tennessee Wesleyan (7-6, 4-4 AAC) started the second frame with another 3-0 run to push its lead to 6-2 just 2:10 into the period. Stephenson responded with his second score of the contest two minutes later, but a third trio of unanswered goals by the Bulldogs brought the score to 9-3 with 6:04 remaining until the intermission. Although Hittle finished off his second goal of the day late in the frame, TWU led 9-4 at halftime.
 
The visitors built their advantage due to a 13-1 edge in the faceoff circle, while also taking more than double the Cavaliers' shots (32-15) and placing 21 attempts on target to Montreat's mere six. The Bulldogs also held leads in clears (15-9), opposing turnovers (12-8) and caused turnovers (7-3). Jay Chance limited Tennessee Wesleyan's scoring thanks to his 12 first-half saves in net.
 
Stephenson completed his hat trick off a feed from Johnny Miles to pull the Cavs within four again (9-5) minutes into the second half, but TWU scored in bunches over the ensuing moments. The Bulldogs struck four times, concluding the third frame with a 13-5 edge on the scoreboard with one quarter left. Despite Stephenson's fourth tally of the game at the beginning of the last period, the Bulldogs poured in four additional goals, ending the contest on an 8-1 stretch to clinch their double-digit triumph.
 
Stephenson led the team with four goals, while Hittle contributed a pair of goals and an assist. Chance notched his second-best save total of 2023 with 22 blocks in goal for a 56.4 save percentage.
 
The visitors outshot Montreat 56-36 overall and 39-16 on target, creating chances due to their numerous possessions via a 25-1 faceoff edge. Tennessee Wesleyan led nearly every statistical category, registering 28 clears to the Cavs' 20, capitalizing on 23 opposing turnovers to the home side's 22, and causing 14 turnovers to the Cavaliers' nine.
 
Men's lacrosse now travels to SCAD Atlanta on Saturday for its final regular-season matchup of the year. Opening faceoff is slated for 1:30 p.m.