BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— The Montreat men's lacrosse team played its third consecutive contest versus an NCAA opponent as the Cavaliers faced the Shorter University Hawks at Pulliam Stadium Wednesday afternoon. In a low-scoring battle, the Hawks bested the Cavs by a score of 11-3 as Montreat dropped to 1-2 on the season.
 
Shorter (4-1) grabbed a 1-0 lead before Johnny Miles notched his second goal of the year to level the competition at one with 2:46 remaining in the first frame. SU then took a 2-1 advantage through 15 minutes prior to adding three more tallies in the second to build a 5-1 edge.
 
Connor Walsh netted his 10^th goal of the season with 1:04 left in the half to trim Montreat's deficit to just three (5-2) at the break. Through two periods, the Hawks held a slim lead in most statistical categories, including shots (25-20), shots on goal (12-10) and successful clears (13-9). The Cavaliers grabbed a 6-2 advantage in the faceoff circle and Josh Espinosa made seven first-half saves.
 
Shorter utilized suffocating defense and extra-man opportunities to grow its edge in the second half as the Hawks tallied both goals in the third quarter and scored the initial four of the final frame to go up 11-2 with just 2:54 to play. Walsh registered his second goal of the day late in the quarter, but the Cavs fell by eight.
 
In the end, Shorter outshot the Cavaliers 49-40, 25-15 on frame. The Hawks scooped up more ground balls (39-30), successfully cleared their zone more (24-18), forced more turnovers (27-22) and converted on all three of their extra-man chances. Meanwhile, Montreat won more faceoffs (9-8) and Espinosa ended with 14 saves. Justin Holland and Eli King finished with a team-high six ground balls each, while Espinosa and Holland each caused multiple turnovers.
 
Men's lacrosse now makes its way to Richmond, Ky. for a neutral-site competition against Mount Vernon Nazarene University on Saturday. The game's start is expected at 12 p.m.