BABSON PARK, Fla.— The Montreat men's lacrosse team began its 3-game road trip with an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup against the Webber International University Warriors in Florida Monday afternoon. Playing versus the No. 2 ranked team in the NAIA, the Cavaliers fell to 1-8 (0-2 AAC) with a 30-4 defeat.
 
WIU (7-1, 2-1 AAC) scored all seven goals of the first quarter and the initial five of the second before Eli King got the Cavaliers on the board with 5:32 to go until halftime. Ultimately, the Warriors went into the break up 13-1.
 
Webber led total shots (25-8), shots on goal (20-6), faceoff wins (10-6), clears (15-8) and caused turnovers (9-3) with 30 minutes to play. Josh Espinosa recorded seven first-half saves in net for the Cavs.
 
Montreat struggled in the third frame as the home side collected all 11 tallies in the period to lead 24-1 through three quarters of action. Despite the sizable deficit, the Cavaliers fought back with a trio of scores in the final period. Connor Walsh registered his 17^th goal of the season before Jay Chance contributed with a strike to make the score 27-3 midway through the fourth. Justin Holland then closed the matchup with a goal in the 26-goal contest.
 
As the scoreline would indicate, WIU controlled every stat category, including shots (54-19), shots on frame (43-14), ground balls (41-11), faceoff wins (27-11), successful clears (26-15), caused turnovers (14-4) and opposing team turnovers (27-17). Ernie Del Sol led the team with four ground balls, while Espinosa finished with eight saves and Brandon Sandoval notched five stops in 18:18 of game time.
 
Men's lacrosse continues its tough stretch with a game at No. 1 Keiser University on Wednesday. Opening faceoff in West Palm Beach, Fla. is scheduled for 6 p.m.