ST. LOUIS— The Montreat College men's lacrosse team started off its weekend trip to St. Louis with a quality 13-10 victory over the Missouri Baptist University Spartans on Friday night. Following the squad's second straight triumph, the Cavaliers' record climbed to 2-1 on the young season, while MBU began the year at 0-1.
Missouri Baptist notched the contest's opening goal a little less than five minutes into the game, but the visitors answered with the final four tallies of the initial quarter.
Garrett Thomson assisted
Justin Holland's response midway through the frame before Holland scored another to put the Cavs in front.
D'Andrae McKenzie then mustered a pair of unassisted strikes in the final three minutes, putting Montreat on top 4-1 through one quarter.
Holland made the Spartans pay for their turnover early in the second period, depositing a shot past the Missouri Baptist goalkeeper for a 5-1 edge at the 13:44 mark. MBU struck back with a tally less than a minute later, but
Landon LaGro restored the four-goal lead less than 90 seconds after. The Simpsonville, S.C. native then assisted another Thomson strike, handing the visitors their largest lead of the night, 7-2, by the midpoint of the second quarter.
Missouri Baptist found its groove across the latter stages of the second frame, rattling off four straight goals during a four-minute stretch. As a result, the Cavaliers' lead was slashed down to 7-6 by halftime.
Both sides scored twice in the third quarter, preserving the visitors' one-goal advantage. Holland achieved his hat trick just over two minutes into the period, and
Grayson Scott registered his lone tally of the night with roughly five minutes to go. With just 15 minutes remaining, the Cavs held tightly to a 9-8 lead.
The Spartans utilized back-to-back strikes to seize a 10-9 edge in the fourth quarter, their first lead since scoring the initial goal of the matchup. However, a 4-0 Cavalier run across the final 6:43 of play flipped the score back in Montreat's favor.
Nickolas Hargett delivered a clutch goal to tie the contest at the 6:43 mark. Meanwhile, Holland unleashed a pair of man-up tallies to bookend
Shaquon Sullivan's only goal of the contest. With the late surge propelling the visitors to the finish line, the Cavs wrapped up the nonconference showdown in front, 13-10.
"Tonight was another great team win," said head coach
Brian Holland. "We had to battle some adversity, but we pulled through, and that will serve us well as we continue to go through the season."
Statistically, Montreat proved to be the more dangerous side. The Cavaliers doubled up the Spartans in shots (54-27) and shots on goal (28-13), thanks in large part to committing 14 fewer turnovers (33-19). The Cavs also finished with the edge in successful clears (17-14) and extra man goals (2-0). MBU ended the matchup with more faceoff wins (21-5), ground balls (35-31) and saves (15-3).
Holland paced Montreat with six goals. The upperclassman placed 12 of his 18 total shot attempts on frame, including the game-winner. Thomson contributed significantly to the offensive effort with a goal and two assists, while McKenzie added a pair of unassisted goals, showcasing his ability to find the back of the net independently. LaGro also played a key role by scoring once and dishing out three assists, demonstrating his playmaking capabilities.
The Montreat College men's lacrosse team is right back in action on Saturday, Feb. 21 with a neutral-site clash against the Midland University Warriors. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. EST in St. Louis.
