PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's lacrosse team battled against Malone on Saturday afternoon, ultimately emerging victorious on Senior Night in front of a large crowd at Jack Britt. The Storm led the whole way thanks to a total team effort that included four different players scoring a hat-trick. This win was huge towards playoff implications, as it puts Lake Erie at 5-2 against G-MAC schools, good for a tie at third place with Walsh. With two games left against Davenport (5-1) and Tiffin (1-6), the Storm will need to continue their impressive play if they want to host a playoff game in Painesville. 

Game Recap

Leading scorer for the Storm this season Joey Ellison set the tone for the game when he scored at the 13:16 mark in the first period, and he was quickly followed by teammates Kyle Gardner and Zephaniah Scott shortly after. Up 3-0 after just four minutes of action, it appeared as if there might be a blowout brewing. However, the Pioneers weren't going to bow out that easy, scoring near the midway mark to tighten the game to a two-goal deficit. However, additional goals by Gardner and Ellison put Lake Erie on top with an impressive 5-1 advantage as the first period came to a close. 

Malone was the first to score as the second period began underway, but goals by Billy Coughlin and Zephaniah Scott helped the Storm reach a commanding 7-2 lead into the winding minutes before halftime. The Pioneers however were able to score a late goal, helping them stick around at a much more manageable deficit of 7-3. 

Coming out of the break, Malone made things interesting with two quick goals to pull within two. Suddenly, it was a game again. But Lake Erie answered with four straight goals over a six-minute span to go up 11-5. Ellison completed his hat trick at the 12:45 mark, followed by scores from Coughlin, John Collins, and Andrew Cramer. Malone scored again with just over a minute left in the third, but Coughlin responded with 12 seconds remaining, earning his own hat trick and restoring a six-goal cushion heading into the final frame.

Playing with a renewed sense of urgency, Malone rocketed off two goals in the span of 20 seconds to jump-start the 4th period, setting the stage for an exciting end to a thrilling Senior Night. Zephaniah Scott scored at the 12:31 mark to put Lake Erie back up by five, but consecutive Pioneer goals cut the Storm lead to just three with 6:29 remaining. Although Malone kept winning important face-offs, Lake Erie's defense hunkered down from here, surviving two additional shots and creating four turnovers to seal their victory. For good measure, Kyle Gardner became the fourth Storm player with a hat-trick, as he found the net off a pretty pass from Billy Coughlin, cementing a well-deserved 14-10 victory. 

Player Notes

• Four players recorded hat tricks: Joey Ellison, Zephaniah Scott, Billy Coughlin, and Kyle Gardner. The last time Lake Erie had four hat tricks in one game was in 2023, also against Malone, when they won 23-9. Current Storm player Tim Woods had four goals in that one.

• Top five goal scorers on the season: Joey Ellison (20), John Collins (15), Zephaniah Scott (14), Billy Coughlin (13), and Kyle Gardner (11).

• Sophomore Robert Weil didn't score but posted his second career multi-assist game with two dimes.

• Groundball leaders: Lasse Litfin (6), Gavin Conlan (5), and Naythan Zurowski (4).

• Litfin also led the team with four forced turnovers, while Nicolas Shankland added two, bringing his season total to 20 — good for seventh in the G-MAC.

• Faceoff results: Noah Beckett went 5-for-17; Joshua Hegbe won 3-of-8.

Team Notes

• Both teams were pretty evenly matched on both shots (Malone +1) and shots-on-goal (Storm +1).

• Lake Erie was more impressive in goal (+3 saves), won the turnover battle (14-22), and in turn, was extremely efficient on clear attempts (23/24).

• Conversely, Malone was stellar on faceoffs (17/25), which helped them get on more groundballs (33-30).

• Lake Erie played extremely physical tonight, racking up 11 penalties for eight minutes. Their previous high was five penalties for just 3:30.

• This led the Pioneers to scoring four goals in their extra-man opportunities.

The Matchup

Lake Erie is now 4-0 all-time against Malone, with this being the closest contest in the young rivalry.

Looking Ahead

Lake Erie closes the regular season on the road, starting Wednesday, April 16 at 7 p.m. against Davenport. Much like the Storm, the Panthers had a rocky start outside of conference play but have since turned things around in G-MAC action. After starting 0-5, Davenport has ripped off four straight wins, including a wild comeback over Walsh (five goals in the final four minutes to win 17-16) and blowouts over Tiffin (14-4) and Davis & Elkins (26-4). With three players averaging over two goals per game, the Panthers bring firepower — and the Storm will need another total team performance to come out on top.