ANNVILLE, Pa. – The back of the net was difficult to find for the Hood College men's lacrosse team against cross-conference foe Lebanon Valley College, as the Blazers fell 8-2 on the road.
Inside the Box Score
Isiac Nafziger (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor) and
Danny McElroy (Frederick, Md./Saint James) scored the only goals for Hood.
Calvin Morris (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Catholic) made 13 saves in the loss.
How it Happened
Hood won the opening faceoff and immediately put pressure on the LVC defense, forcing goalie Kellen Markley to make a couple of saves early on. Those saves were key for the Flying Dutchmen, as they were able to score on their first real offensive
possession to take back some momentum.
Nafziger would not let the Blazers' early pressure go to waste completely though, bolting past his defender and slotting home a behind-the-back shot to tie the game 1-1.
It looked like that would be the score heading into the second quarter as neither team could get much going after the two early goals, but a pair of goals from LVC in the final few minutes of the quarter put Hood behind 3-1.
Both defenses clamped down for the first half of the second quarter, with the Flying Dutchmen having the only shot on goal for the first six minutes of play. An LVC at the 8:42 mark seemed to spark something in the home team's offense though, as they added two more before the end of the period as the Blazers suddenly found themselves down 6-1 at halftime.
Despite the third quarter being full of turnovers from both squads, McElroy would notch a goal on the man advantage for the only goal of the quarter, which trimmed the deficit to 6-2 heading into the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately for Hood, that McElroy goal would be the only other goal for it in the game, with the Flying Dutchmen adding on two more before the buzzer to make it an 8-2 final.
For the Opponent
Ryan Grace scored two goals and registered an assist.
Markley made 12 saves to earn the win.
Analysis
LVC outshot Hood 21-14.
The Flying Dutchmen picked up 28 ground balls, compared to just 18 for the Blazers.
Hood had a 9-5 advantage in the faceoff circle.
Up Next
The Blazers have their first home game of the season against Goucher College Wednesday, February 25 at 6 p.m.
