WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.— The Montreat men's lacrosse team traveled to West Palm Beach, Fla. Wednesday evening for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) showdown against the reigning national champions, the Keiser University Seahawks. Currently ranked No. 2 in the NAIA Men's Lacrosse Coaches' Top 10 Poll, the hosts took care of business versus the Cavaliers, winning 23-8 and dropping the visitors' record to 1-9 (0-3 AAC).
 
Keiser (8-1, 4-1 AAC) poured in the initial two scores of the first quarter, but Connor Walsh set up Jay Chance's 13^th goal of the season to halve the Cavs' deficit just 4:02 into the matchup; however, Montreat failed to get back onto the scoresheet across the period's final 10:52, and the Seahawks rattled off eight straight tallies to close out the frame with a 10-1 lead.
 
The home team extended its consecutive goals streak to 14 as it notched the first six strikes in the second to vault in front, 16-1, with 2:49 remaining prior to halftime. Grayson Scott ended the run 36 seconds later when he deposited a shot into the KU net for his seventh tally of the year. Despite the goal, Keiser ultimately had the final say as it found an answer right before the intermission. As a result, the Seahawks owned a 17-2 lead midway through the contest.
 
Josh Espinosa made nine saves through 30 minutes for the Cavaliers, but the hosts held advantages in nearly every other statistical category at halftime. KU took more shots (44-7), placed more attempts on goal (26-4), scooped up more ground balls (35-10), won more faceoffs (16-5), accrued more successful clears (6-3), caused more turnovers (10-4) and committed fewer turnovers (13-6) than Montreat.
 
In a back-and-forth third quarter, Keiser managed to just narrowly outscore the Cavs, 4-3. Chance delivered his second goal of the game, and both Walsh and Eli King tallied their first goals of the evening to pull within 19-5 by the 5:05 mark. The Seahawks responded, though, and they rattled off a trio of scores during the final three minutes to expand their edge up to 17 (22-5) with 15 minutes to go.
 
Montreat collected the initial three goals in the final quarter of action, including Chance's third strike to finish off his hat trick. King and Scott each scored their second goals of the night to trim the gap down to 22-8, but that was as close as the Cavaliers got. Keiser tallied the final score of the night, and it claimed a 23-8 victory over the visitors.
 
The Seahawks registered more shots (67-23), shots on goal (26-11), ground balls (49-20), faceoff wins (26-9) and caused turnovers (17-5) than their opposition. KU also committed 12 fewer turnovers (22-10), while both teams accumulated 10 successful clears.
 
Espinosa ended the game with 11 saves, and Brandon Sandoval made a pair of stops during his appearance in the fourth quarter. Chance led the squad in scoring with a hat trick, while Johnny Miles had a team-best three assists. Justin Holland seized five ground balls and caused two turnovers, both most among Montreat participants.
 
The Montreat men's lacrosse team concludes its 3-game road trip on Friday with an AAC clash against the No. 1-ranked Reinhardt University Eagles. Opening faceoff is slated for 5 p.m. in Waleska, Ga.