PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's lacrosse team dominated Davis & Elkins on Saturday afternoon, cruising to a commanding 20-3 victory. After managing just 21 total goals in their first four games, the Storm offense has caught fire, netting 41 goals over their last three matchups—all resulting in wins. With the victory, Lake Erie improves to 3-4 overall and 3-1 in G-MAC play, placing them second in the conference standings.

Game Recap

From the opening whistle, Lake Erie controlled the game. The Storm rushed out to a 5-0 lead, thanks to two goals from John Collins and one each from Billy Coughlin, Zephaniah Scott, and Robert Weil. Davis & Elkins finally got on the board with 47 seconds remaining in the first period, but another goal from Weil extended Lake Erie's lead to 6-1 after one.

Over the next 31 minutes of game time, the Storm completely shut down the Senators, blanking them with stifling defense while rattling off eight unanswered goals. During this stretch, Collins tacked on three more goals to bring his total to five for the day, while Coughlin, Joey Ellison (twice), Andrew Cramer, and Naythan Zurowski all found the back of the net.

Davis & Elkins finally broke their scoring drought early in the fourth quarter, trimming the deficit to 14-2, but Lake Erie quickly put any hope of a comeback to rest with another 6-0 scoring run. Tim Woods, Kyle Gardner, and several other Storm players contributed to the final push, eliminating any chance of late-game heroics. A late goal by Davis & Elkins gave them a mere three on the day, but the final whistle soon sounded, sealing a dominant 20-3 victory for Lake Erie.

Player Notes 

• John Collins was electric, netting six goals on just eight shots, extending his streak to four straight games with a goal.
• Joey Ellison, the team's leading scorer, recorded his third career hat trick (and second in the last three games), pushing his season total to 13 goals.
• Zephaniah Scott, Robert Weil, Billy Coughlin, and Andrew Cramer each recorded two goals.
• Tim Woods and Billy Coughlin led the team in assists with three apiece.
• Cian Runyan notched his first career point, assisting Collins in the first period, while Will Whitlock registered his first assist of the season on a late goal by Weil.
• Lasse Litfin and Sean Gavin led the team in ground balls with five each, while Gavin also forced a team-high three turnovers.
• Noah Beckett handled every faceoff for Lake Erie, winning 14 of 26.
• Gavin Conlan started in goal, allowing just one score while making four saves before halftime. Kenneth Shobert took over in the second half, recording three saves in his season debut.

Team Notes

Lake Erie played a disciplined game, committing just nine turnovers—their fewest in over two seasons—while forcing an impressive 23 turnovers from Davis & Elkins. Their +14 turnover margin is the team's highest of the season, marking their sixth consecutive game winning the turnover battle.

Davis and Elkins attempted just 13 shots tonight. The last time a Storm opponent attempted fewer in a game came over a decade ago back in 2013 against Alderson-Broaddus (12). Lake Erie, on the other hand, took 56 shots, good for a +43 margin - easily their highest of the season. 

Winning the ground-ball battle was another key to victory, as the Storm held Davis & Elkins to just 17 ground balls—a season-best defensive effort. Lake Erie also controlled the clear game, successfully completing 22 of 25 attempts, compared to just 13 successful clears on 16 tries for the Senators.

Looking Ahead

With more than half the regular season now behind them, the Storm will look to keep their G-MAC momentum rolling as they hit the road to face Walsh on Tuesday, March 18. Like Lake Erie, the Cavaliers had a tough non-conference slate, starting 1-3 before rebounding with back-to-back conference wins over Northwood (17-6) and Tiffin (13-6). However, they are coming off a tough loss to Wheeling after leading at halftime.

Walsh is led by 6'1" junior James Sternburg, who ranks third in the conference in points per game (4.86), seventh in goals (17), and second in assists (17). The Storm will need another strong defensive effort to contain him and continue their climb up the G-MAC standings.