WILLIAMSBURG, Ky.— The Montreat men's lacrosse team battled a top-10 foe for the second consecutive game Wednesday night as the Cavaliers squared off against the No. 6-ranked University of the Cumberlands Patriots. When the final buzzer sounded in Williamsburg, Ky., the Cavs fell by a 22-8 final and dropped to 1-8 overall and 1-4 in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) action.
 
Cumberlands (8-4, 3-3 AAC) notched the contest's opening goal just 3:01 into first quarter, but Jake Mrozienski found the equalizer and knotted the score at one a little over halfway through the period. Despite the strong and swift response, the Patriots had an immediate answer. Scoring 21 seconds after the Cavs leveled the game, UC rattled off four straight goals to hold a 5-1 lead after one quarter of action.
 
The Patriots ran their consecutive goals total to seven as they expanded their lead out to 8-1 by the midpoint of the second quarter. Brayden Hittle and Johnny Miles then offset a pair of Cumberlands goals down the stretch as the Cavaliers entered the half with a 10-3 deficit.
 
Montreat owned a 9-6 advantage in the faceoff circle at the intermission, but UC committed five fewer turnovers (14-9) and owned edges in shots (25-16) and shots on goal (16-7) through 30 minutes of play. Justin Holland made six saves in the first half to keep the Cavs within shouting distance.
 
UC started the third period with three straight goals before Ben Stephenson cut the deficit to 13-4 with his 19^th goal of the season. After the Patriots restored their lead to 10 (14-4) at the 9:46 mark, Hittle answered just 55 seconds later with his second goal of the night. Despite the back-and-forth stretch, Cumberlands regained control of the contest and netted four consecutive goals in the final 8:15 of the quarter to lead by 13 (18-5) entering the fourth.
 
Two more Patriot goals in the initial 2:25 of the final frame handed the hosts their largest lead of the night at 20-5. Jaylen Dixon scored the first goal of his Cavalier career with 11:11 remaining, and Grayson Scott tallied the Cavs' lone assist of the night on Stephenson's second strike. UC found the back of the net twice more midway through the quarter, but it was Stephenson who closed out the scoring with his hat trick with 5:07 left as Montreat lost a 22-8 final.
 
The Cavaliers won the battle in the faceoff circle, 21-13, but Cumberlands finished the night with edges in most other statistical categories. UC took more shots (53-33) and placed more shots on target (33-18) than its counterpart, and it possessed significant edges in turnovers by opponents (24-15) and successful clears (24-13).
 
Stephenson paced the Cavs with three goals, while Hittle also notched multiple scores with two. Miles led the squad with nine ground balls as he went 21-for-34 in the faceoff circle. Holland ultimately stopped 11 shots in his first career start in net.
 
The Montreat men's lacrosse team returns to Pulliam Stadium on Saturday for a senior-day matchup against Point University. Senior day festivities, along with a recognition ceremony for Keith Lohmuller, are slated to begin at 12:40 p.m.