PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Lake Erie men's lacrosse team battled Walsh University on Tuesday night, exiting with a 13-7 loss. The Storm were up 3-1 with 1:40 left in the first, but the Cavaliers exploded for three quick goals to take a 4-3 lead. From there, the visiting Cavs rode their momentum to a 9-4 halftime advantage. The second half was a tight battle, but the deficit proved too much to overcome, as Lake Erie fell to 1-7.
Game Recap
Walsh scored the first goal of the game five minutes after the opening faceoff, but Billy Coughlin tied it up five minutes later. John Collins followed that up with a goal of his own off an Andrew Cramer assist, and another quick Coughlin goal, assisted by Collins, put Lake Erie up 3-1 with 1:40 left in the period. However, the Cavs seized momentum from there, scoring three quick goals to end the period on top.
Scoring once again to start the second period, Walsh went up 5-3 before John Collins found Joey Ellison for a goal, momentarily pumping the brakes on the way the game was trending. However, just 44 seconds later, the Cavs were back to celebrating, and three more goals by the visitors pushed the deficit to 9-4 by the break.
After a scoreless seven-plus minutes of the third period, Joey Ellison once again fired a shot that found the back of the net, as Billy Coughlin assisted Ellison for his 10th goal of the season. Walsh would go back up by five goals a handful of minutes later, but Andrew Cramer was able to keep the Storm within reach, scoring off a Naythan Zurowski assist to enter the fourth down 10-6.
The Cavs were able to put the clamps on the Storm offense in the pivotal final 15 minutes, holding Lake Erie to four shots on goal and just one score. That came from Andrew Cramer with 4:27 remaining, but by then, it marked a 12-7 deficit that only expanded a minute later, as the Storm fell to a strong Walsh squad.
Overall Stat Summary
Walsh is a talented team and played like it, highlighted by their ability to win faceoffs (19-4) and control ground balls (38-27). These added possessions led to 13 more shots and 10 additional shots on target than the Storm.
Looking Ahead
With six games remaining, the Storm hit the road for Rochester, New York, for their final non-conference game of the season against Roberts Wesleyan on Wednesday, March 25th. The (1-5) Redhawks lost to Walsh earlier this year by a score of 12-10, despite seven goals from sophomore attacker Chase Wilson, who leads the team with 16 this season. Another sophomore attacker, Colin Duncan, is close behind with 14 goals, as the duo has combined for 30 of the team's 47 goals this season. They also combined for nine goals in their only win of the season, a 15-7 rout of familiar G-MAC school Malone, who the Storm will face on April 11th.
