WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College men's lacrosse team (4-3, 1-1) pushed nationally-ranked Belmont Abbey (5-2, 2-0) to the limit but came up short by a 14-11 score on Saturday afternoon in a Conference Carolinas match at Electric Supply Company Field at Truist Stadium.
Belmont Abbey, ranked No. 12 in NCAA Division II, was led by Sean Hanrahan (Bothell, Wash.) with four goals as the Crusaders scored three straight goals to start the fourth stanza after clinging to an 11-10 advantage and were able to take control from there.
Hanrahan scored the first goal of the match and then the last two scores as Belmont Abbey won its fifth straight contest after starting the year with an 0-2 mark.
Barton was led by junior midfielder
Seth Mandryk (Stonewall, Manitoba, CANADA) and senior midfielder
Bodin Nichols (Brainerd, Minn.) with three goals each but the Bulldogs spent the rest of the day trying to play catch-up after falling behind by a 4-0 score 10 minutes into the contest. Nichols added two assists for five total points on the afternoon.
In goal, Belmont Abbey's Bryce Gifford (Delran, N.J.) made eight saves and was credited with the win while freshman
Nathan Metcalf (Oxford, N.C.) suffered the setback for Barton despite 14 stops on the day. Barton also lost despite advantages in both shots taken (32-29) and ground balls (30-26).
Barton remains at home to face Chowan in a non-conference match on Wednesday beginning at 3:00 p.m., while Belmont Abbey takes on Lees-McRae in Banner Elk, N.C., in a league contest Wednesday at 3:00 p.m., as well.
