BELMONT, N.C. – The Lake Erie College men's lacrosse team opened the 2017 season on Saturday (Feb. 25) with a game on the road in Belmont, North Carolina. The 11th-ranked Storm fell to the #13 Belmont Abbey Crusaders 15-4.

The Crusaders scored first before the Storm tied the game on a goal from James Chadwick (Amherst, N.Y. / Amherst Central) on an assist from Nicholas Tschetter (Hilton, N.Y. / Aquanis Institute) at the 9:55 mark. The Crusaders scored three straight goals, taking a 4-1 lead. With 19 seconds left in the first quarter, Brandon Donahue (South Buffalo, N.Y. / Bishop Timon St. Jude) assisted on a goal by Tim Bay (Canadaigua, N.Y. / Canadaigua Academy). The Storm trailed 4-2 after one quarter.

Belmont Abbey opened the second quarter with a score in the first minute. Lake Erie responded as Mitchell Stokes (New Westminster, B.C. / New Westminster Secondary) scored an unassisted goal with 10:55 left in the half. The Crusaders scored two more goals as they led the Storm 7-3 at halftime.

The Crusaders scored four straight goals for an 11-3 lead in the third quarter. Edmond Renaud (Carlisle, Ont. / Waterdown District / Pfeiffer) scored on an assist from Mack Fall (Morgantown, W. Va. / University) with 2:31 left in the third. The Storm trailed 11-4 after three quarters.

The Storm had ten shots in the fourth quarter but Belmont Abbey scored four goals in the fourth for a final score of 15-4.

Four different players scored as three different players had assists. The Storm took 29 shots in the game.

Reed Hnidy (Saskatoon, Sask. / Genesee CC) led the Storm with five groundballs and five caused turnovers while Tyler Manning (Hamburg, N.Y. / Bishop Timon St. Jude) had four groundballs. Five different players had two groundballs each. Liam Smith (Webster, N.Y. / Aquinas Institute) forced three turnovers for the Storm.

Dylan Dix (Rochester, N.Y. / Gates Chili) made seven saves in the goal.

The Storm will return to action as they will face Florida Southern on Tuesday (Feb. 28) in Lakeland, Florida. 

-LEC-