ADRIAN, Mich. -- The sixth-ranked Siena Heights men's lacrosse team fell 14-12 to #7 Missouri Valley at home on Saturday afternoon. Alex Gilbert tallied three goals and an assist to help lead the Saints in the losing effort.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Missouri Valley 14, Siena Heights 12
Location: Adrian, Michigan (O'Laughlin Stadium)
Records: Missouri Valley (5-1), Siena Heights (2-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Danny Kreitzer put the Saints on the board first with a goal in the opening three minutes of the game. The Vikings tied things up with 9:50 remaining in the opening quarter before taking a 2-1 lead with another goal at the 8:43 mark. Gilbert tied things up at two with just over 7:30 left on the clock. Following another Missouri Valley goal, Nathan Lipon scored a man-up goal with less than two minutes left to tie the game for a third time in the first 15 minutes. The Vikings would end the quarter with two more goals to take a 5-3 lead into the second, goals that would prove to be the difference in the contest.
The Saints exploded in the second quarter with five goals while holding MVC to only one to take an 8-6 lead into the locker room at the half. Lipon scored the first goal in the opening two minutes. Ryan Mamo netted a goal off an assist from Gilbert with 12:17 left on the clock to tie things at five. Nate Ford and Mamo scored the next two goals for Siena to push to a 7-5 lead with just 7:07 before the intermission. The Missouri Valley goal came with 2:16 left in the first half. Mamo completed a hat trick with a man-up goal in the final 30 seconds of the second to extend the Saints lead.
Both teams traded goals in the third to keep the margin at the same spot as the score was 11-9 advantage SHU going into the final quarter. The Vikings pulled within one goal in the first 55 seconds of the fourth before Gilbert finished his hat trick with a goal at the 13:53 mark to put the lead back to two goals (12-10). The next four goals went to Missouri Valley as the Saints failed to score again for the remainder of the game.
TOP SAINTS
• Gilbert finished with seven shots on goal and four points in the game.
• Nathan Lipon registered three goals and an assist on five shots on goal while scooping two ground balls.
• Ryan Mamo recorded three goals, a ground ball, and a caused turnover.
• Jake Gallaher led the saints with seven ground balls and two assists.
• Vinnie Jean (L, 1-1) made 14 saves between the pipes for the Saints in the losing effort.
THE OPPOSITION
• Jack Smith had a game-high five goals.
• Ryan Barnes tallied four goals and seven ground balls.
• Liam Carney (W, 5-1) saved 13 of the 25 shots he faced to earn the "W" in net for the Vikings.
UP NEXT
The Saints will get a week off before traveling to Dearborn to face Michigan-Dearborn in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference road-opener on Saturday, March 23. The game is set to start at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
