Photo Credit: Maddie Berardi

INDIANAPOLIS

The Lake Erie College Storm men's lacrosse team chipped away, but ultimately fell short to the no. 9 overall ranked Greyhounds of the University of Indianapolis this afternoon with a final score of 15-13. "Even though we came up short, we showed a lot of resilience and showed we can battle through adversity.", said head coach Sam Ashton.

The Greyhounds pulled away with four scores in the first quarter, including a 3-0 lead by the 8:00 minute mark of the first quarter, but Blain Wallace scored back-to-back goals in less than two minutes, and Neil Gardner scored with 0:19 left to head into the second quarter within one score of being tied.

The two teams traded three goals each in the second quarter (Matthew Cromie (2), Gardner), before U. Indy. added two straight with 3:42 left to play in the half to make the score 9-6. The Storm kept fighting, with a pair of goals scored by Lake Erie transfer Jackman Schooley and familiar face Neil Garder to keep their team within one with 1:21 left to play in the half. With 0:23 left to play in the second, U. Indy. got the last score of the half and the two teams went into the locker rooms with a final score of 10-8.

The Storm gained momentum in the third, outscoring their opponent three goals to two with goals scored by Wallace, Nathan Quinn, and Kyle Barna, and the team remained within one heading into the final quarter of play with a score of 12-11.

Indianapolis began the fourth with two quick scores to start the quarter, but the Storm added two more goals, scored by Garnder and Cromie, before Indy's final goal of the game. 

In goal for the Storm was Johnny Wilson III, making 14 saves in 29 shots, 17 of which came in the first quarter of the game.

The Storm offense took 33 total shots on the day, with the Greyhound keeper making six saves in comparison.

Leading the Storm in goals against the Greyhounds was Neil Gardner with four goals scored, two assists, and two ground balls.

Matthew Cromie and Blain Wallace both added three goals respectively.

Ashton is ready to get to work on the team's return to Painesville, but there were some good things that came out of this loss. "I thought we had great goalie play, played unselfishly on offense, and took a top 10 team to the wire.", continued Ashton. "Obviously we would have loved to come away with a win, but there are some positives to take away from the game, and some negatives we have to clean up going into next week."

Lake Erie returns to the field on Saturday, Feb. 22 for a road matchup against Frostburg St.

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