COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Montreat College men's lacrosse team went to Columbia, S.C. on Wednesday night for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest versus the Columbia College Koalas. Behind a balanced and effective offensive display, the Cavaliers sprinted past the hosts en route to a 21-5 final score.
 
With the victory, the Cavs improved to 5-9 (2-6 AAC) on the year, while CC fell to 2-12 (0-8 AAC). The five wins mark the squad's most in a single season since 2018, when the team won a program-record six games.
 
Columbia opened the scoring less than two minutes into the initial quarter, but Montreat responded by notching five of the ensuing seven tallies. Five different Cavaliers registered a goal in the first frame. Grayson Scott leveled the matchup at 1-1 just over three minutes in, while strikes from Nickolas Hargett and Landon LaGro expanded the visitors' edge to 3-1. Justin Holland and D'Andrae McKenzie answered Koala tallies, preserving the Cavs' two-goal advantage late in the period. CC found the back of the net just before the quarter ended, but the away side still owned a 5-4 lead after 15 minutes of play.
 
Already the program's saves leader, goalkeeper Jay Chance recorded the 500^th save of his Cavalier career with his fourth stop of the evening. The Waxhaw, N.C. native held firm throughout the second quarter, keeping Columbia off the scoresheet across the 15-minute stretch. Meanwhile, Montreat's offense unleashed a seven-goal display that vaulted itself out to a 12-4 lead prior to the intermission. Holland scored twice in the frame, giving him a hat trick in the opening half, while Ethan Seamans and Garrett Thomson etched their first tallies of the night.
 
Scoring the first five in the third quarter, the Cavs ran their consecutive goals streak to 12 as they built a 17-4 lead by the 3:31 mark. Thomson assisted Holland for the initial strike of the frame, while Neven Gordic's second career tally capped off the scoring run. After being held off the board for nearly two full quarters, the Koalas finally snuck a shot into the netting with 2:02 remaining in the period. However, Montreat still sat in the driver's seat holding a 17-5 edge.
 
Pitching another shutout, the Cavaliers held the hosts scoreless during the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the visitors scored four times in the frame. Seamans and Thomson ballooned the lead to 19-5 less than five minutes into the period, while Holland got involved on the final two strikes with an assist and a goal, giving him a career-best eight-point performance. Holland's dime set up Cody O'Connell with 5:24 remaining for his first career goal in a Montreat jersey. From there, the Cavs melted down the clock until the final buzzer sounded, leaving the away side in a victorious position, 21-5.
 
"After a slow start, we got back to playing our game," said Head Coach Brian Holland. "Our defense did a great job shutting them down, and the offense played unselfishly and moved the ball very well. The coaching staff was very proud of the effort we put in after the first quarter."
 
On the night, Montreat owned the statistical upper hand in shots (65-29), shots on goal (38-20), turnovers (22-4) and clears (13-8). Columbia ended the contest with more saves (17-15), ground balls (35-22) and faceoffs (20-9).
 
Holland's eight-point effort paced the visitors as the upperclassman delivered five goals and three assists throughout the game. Thomson wasn't far behind with a seven-point showing, powered by two goals and a career-high five assists. LaGro achieved a hat trick with three tallies, while Hargett, Seamans, McKenzie and Scott also scored twice. Gavin Mottram, Gordic and O'Connell rounded out the offensive account with one goal apiece. In total, 10 different Cavaliers scored in the win.
 
Defensively, Chance made 14 saves for a 0.764 save percentage across nearly 50 minutes in net. He leads the program in career saves with 510 after Wednesday. Joshua Kalec also secured one save during the final 10:17.
 
The Montreat College men's lacrosse team finishes up its AAC regular season slate on Saturday when it travels to Hardeeville, S.C. for a meeting with the No. 4-ranked SCAD Savannah Bees. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.