MARS HILL, N.C. – Despite recovering from a sizable deficit, the 18th-ranked Catawba College men's lacrosse team could not escape its first loss of the season dealt by Mars Hill, 14-11, on Saturday afternoon at Meares Stadium.

TEAM STATS

- The Catawba Indians (6-1, 2-1 SAC) boasted a significant 59-33 advantage in the shot count with a 31-24 edge in on-target attempts

- The blue and white won the turnover battle, committing 12 miscues while Mars Hill (6-3, 2-1 SAC) logged 16

- Catawba was slightly more efficient on the clear with a 19-for-22 (.864) outing compared to the Lions' 24-for-28 (.857) performance

- Cael Petroff fronted the Catawba Indians' 17-10 lead in faceoffs with 16 wins, while AJ Howland took all 10 of MHU's victories on the dot

- Brady Gauntner took the loss and recorded three saves, while Ben LoPiccolo stacked a career-high seven saves in relief; Shane Hecht got his sixth win of the season with 20 stops

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Tanner Stout topped the score sheet with three goals as Andrew Crumpacker followed with a pair of darts

- Peyton Turner racked up a team-high five points on one goal and a season-best four assists, tying his career high in dimes

- Frank Cetrone, Jackson Braswell, Devin Trzeciak, Jordan Dash and Jack Mercer supplied one goal apiece

- Petroff led the way in ground balls with six, while Garrett Simi led all non-specialists with four pickups

- Of Catawba's six caused turnovers, Dash notched two takeaways as four others each recorded one

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter

- Catawba capitalized on its first extra-man chance as Turner found Trzeciak for a strike in the contest's third minute, drawing first blood

- The Lions used a man-up score of their own to level the ledger at 1-1, then took the lead on a quick goal from Austin Stroud

- Four saves by Hecht kept the Catawba Indians from drawing even, corralling a ground ball with 11 seconds to go for a field-flipping drive that culminated in a Jake Lynch goal just before time expired

Second Quarter

- Petroff won the opening faceoff, picked up the ground ball and fired a high shot before Cetrone directed an attempt on goal that Hecht stopped

- Mars Hill scored on the four of its next five possessions to add ample insurance to its lead and enjoy a 7-1 advantage

- Catawba eventually stopped the run as the visitors used a Lion error to scurry into scoring range, culminating in Simi assisting Stout on the squad's second goal of the afternoon to reduce the deficit to five at halftime

Third Quarter

- Austin Stroud struck 71 seconds into the third period, but a Catawba timeout steadied the ship and allowed for a swift response with goals from Crumpacker and Stout

- Completing the hat trick, Stout found paydirt off a Michael Lindsey feed to slice the gap down to 8-5

- MHU stretched its advantage to four with Sam Arendt tickling the twine before Braswell matched it

- Cole Ross bumped the Lions back up to a 10-6 lead, then Turner and Crumpacker closed the stanza with scores to bring the blue and white within two

Fourth Quarter

- Dash fired in a man-up blast and Mercer struck minutes later, completing the rally after trailing by six goals

- Caleb Nelson's dart off a rebound on the following possession allowed MHU to retake the lead

- The Lions bolstered their new lead to two on a Lucas Kight score, followed by a man advantage tally by Cetrone 16 seconds later

- Ross and Josh McCallion turned away the Catawba Indians' hopes of tying it again, each netting a goal in the final minutes to seal a crucial South Atlantic Conference win for the hosts

UP NEXT

Catawba plays its first midweek game of the year on Wednesday, Mar. 19 when it hosts Coker at 4 p.m.