BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— The Montreat men's lacrosse team concluded its 2024 season with an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest versus the No. 8-ranked Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) Bees at Pulliam Stadium on Saturday. Though the Cavaliers fought, the Bees ultimately came away with a 20-5 win, ending Montreat's 2024 campaign with a 2-14 (1-8 AAC) record.
Johnny Miles opened the scoring with his 14
th goal of the year just under five minutes in, and, following two goals from the visitors,
Connor Walsh knotted the score at two thanks to a feed from
Justin Holland midway through the frame. Despite the back-and-forth start, the Bees registered the final three strikes of the quarter to go up 5-2 entering the second.
SCAD (9-5, 5-4 AAC) went on to record all five goals in the second period, resulting in a 10-2 halftime scoreline.
At the break, the visitors held distinct edges in shots (27-8), shots on goal (15-5), ground balls (23-19) and faceoff wins (10-4). Both teams successfully cleared their zone seven times, and Montreat committed one more turnover (16-15) to go with one fewer caused turnover (8-7).
Brandon Sandoval, who got the start in net for the Cavaliers, made five saves through 30 minutes.
SCAD continued its torrid run at the beginning of the third quarter, extending its stretch to 14 consecutive goals after adding six more. Miles and
Eli King closed out the frame by netting their 15
th and 18
th goals of the season, respectively, to draw within 16-4 with 15 minutes on the clock.
Though Walsh collected his second of the game and 22
nd of the year, the Bees went on to grow their advantage to 15 at the final buzzer. In the end, SCAD dominated the second half to lead every statistical category. The visitors claimed edges in shots (60-17), shots on target (34-10), faceoff wins (21-8), clears (20-19), opposing turnovers (33-28) and caused turnovers (15-11).
Individually, Miles captained the squad in ground balls (10), caused turnovers (3) and faceoff wins (5) in addition to his pair of goals. Sandoval concluded with a season-high 14 saves in net.
The men's lacrosse team now looks forward to its 2025 season.
