Box Score

MISENHEIMER, N.C. - The Pfeiffer men's lacrosse team (7-2) held off a second half comeback attempt by Lenoir-Rhyne (5-4) to come away with an 11-8 non-conference victory on Saturday afternoon. The win kept Pfeiffer a perfect 6-0 at home on the season and extended their win streak to three in a row.

Kyle Pauwels led the Falcons with four goals and one assist and Derek Thomas finished with three goals and one helper. Eddie Renaud added two goals and an assist and Kevin Kerrick had a game-high six ground balls.

Michael Moorehead earned the win in goal, stopping six shots in the final 30 minutes.

After the Bears scored the first goal of the game, Pfeiffer responded with seven unanswered goals to claim the upper hand. Pauwels scored twice in a 4:15 span and Thomas added three goals in a 13:54 stretch to push Pfeiffer ahead. Pauwels' third goal of the game gave Pfeiffer the 7-1 lead with 6:09 left in the half, but Lenoir-Rhyne would answer with back-to-back scores to end the half.

Trailing 7-3, Lenoir-Rhyne continued their scoring streak, adding three straight to start the third quarter. Ned Kaish scored with 5:06 left in the quarter to pull the visiting Bears within one score. However, Pauwels had the answer just under three minutes later to put Pfeiffer back up two. Kaish would cut the lead to 8-7 at the 1:26 mark of the third quarter but the Falcons scored three straight to put the Bears away.

With 13 seconds left in the third quarter, Tucker Hammock took a pass from Thomas and deposited it in the back of the net. Renaud and Mike Triolo put the Falcons up 11-7 to seal the victory. L-R would score with 35 seconds left to make the final 11-8.

For the game, Lenoir-Rhyne held a 40-35 advantage in shots and a slim 25-24 lead in ground balls. The Bears also won 13 of 22 face offs on the day but went just 1-for-7 with the man advantage.

The Falcons, boasting the top extra man offense in the nation, went 1-for-3 with the man advantage. David Lehman caused two turnovers and finished with three ground balls and assisted on Triolo's final score.

Pfeiffer was whistled for 10 penalties in the game, while Lenoir-Rhyne had four. The Bears were led by Jon Hanlon, Carson Sterling and Kaish who each scored two goals. Alex Squires started in goal and fell to 5-4 on the season as he allowed five scores in his 19:48 of action.

The Falcons return to action on Saturday as they travel to Belmont Abbey for a 1 p.m. game. The game against Abbey starts a four game road swing for the Falcons which will go a long way in determining their post season fate.