ATHENS, Tenn.— The Montreat men's lacrosse team played its final road contest of the 2024 regular season Saturday afternoon when it traveled to Athens, Tenn. for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) showdown with the Tennessee Wesleyan University Bulldogs. Utilizing a quick start, the hosts sprinted past the visitors to the tune of a 25-5 win, dropping Montreat to 2-13 overall and 1-7 in conference action.
 
Tennessee Wesleyan (5-8, 3-5 AAC) controlled play during the first half as it scored the initial 11 goals of the matchup. TWU owned a 7-0 lead after 15 minutes of play, and it maintained an 11-0 advantage just over five minutes into the second quarter.
 
Johnny Miles set up Jay Chance to get the Cavs on the scoreboard at the 9:18 mark in the second frame, and he tacked on an unassisted tally of his own with merely 2:03 left in the half. Connor Walsh contributed his 20^th strike just before halftime, but Montreat still couldn't keep up with the Bulldogs' pace. Tennessee Wesleyan scored nine times in the second quarter alone to take a 16-3 lead into the break.
 
Through 30 minutes of play, TWU held strong edges in shots (37-13), shots on goal (24-10), ground balls (29-17), opposing turnovers (12-7), caused turnovers (4-0) and successful clears (14-7). The Bulldogs also possessed a slim 11-10 faceoff advantage at the half. Justin Holland made eight first-half saves during his initial start in goal.
 
Four consecutive Tennessee Wesleyan goals pushed its lead out to 20-4, but Eli King beat the buzzer to momentarily slow the down the hosts; however, TWU still led the Cavaliers by 16 (20-4) when the fourth quarter began.
 
Miles notched a man-up goal only 44 seconds into the final period, but the Bulldogs registered five strikes of their own over the final 11:05 as they collected a 25-5 win over Montreat.
 
When the final buzzer sounded, the home side still had comfortable advantages in shots (62-26), shots on goal (39-17), opposing turnovers (24-17), clears (26-14) and ground balls (47-32). The Cavs won the faceoff battle, 17-16, and Holland totaled 14 saves across 60 minutes in net. Miles (2G, 1A) was the lone Cavalier with multiple points.
 
The Montreat men's lacrosse team hosts the eighth-ranked SCAD Savannah Bees next Saturday for the squad's regular-season finale. Opening faceoff is set for 1 p.m. at Pulliam Stadium in Black Mountain, N.C.