This weekend’s kickoff for the Division III men’s lacrosse season saw teams from all across the nation playing against non-conference opponents. Saturday, Feb 7 saw the meat of the weekend’s schedule start with No. 3 ranked Salisbury thumping Greensboro 24-1 behind a strong performance by Chris Joyce who scored six goals.
Other action saw the Piedmont Lions tame the Millsaps Majors, 19-10 spoiling the Majors home opener. Taylor Carter for the Lions scored four goals leading the way while Jack Houtz and Simon Sherman paced the Majors with three goals apiece in a valiant losing effort.
In another blowout game, Birmingham-Southern defeated Centenary (LA) 22-1, led by freshman David Arnold with four goals in his collegiate debut; the Panthers men’s lacrosse team defeated the Gents, Saturday afternoon on Battle Field at Panther Stadium in the team’s season opener. The Panthers moved to 1-0, while the Gents dropped to 0-2 after losing to Hendrix earlier this week.
Stephen Latona representing Shenandoah led the team with five goals as the Hornets stung the Knights of Southern Virginia 18-7. The Hendrix College men’s lacrosse team took the field in front of a home crowd for the first time on Saturday, but fell 10-6 to the visiting Southwestern University Pirates meaning the Warriors are 1-1 on the season. Alex Ortenstone put up a solid performance for the Warriors, scoring a goal. Travis Rabun led the offense with two goals and an assist, while Christian Wheeler tallied 16 saves.
The Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals started the season with a win by defeating Mount Union 19-4 in Wheeling, WV. The University of Dallas Crusaders returned to the field for the first time since 2013 after the men’s lacrosse program’s schedule was cancelled last year. The Crusaders played the St. Gregory’s (OK) Cavaliers in Irving TX, defeating them 10-8 behind three goals each by Matthew Cyr and PJ Hasson.
