Owings Mills, Md.-- The Lynchburg College men's lacrosse team suffered a 13-11 loss to No. 1 Rochester Institute Friday afternoon in the first game of the Mustang Classic, hosted by Stevenson. Junior attackman Evan Lombardo (Franklin Park, N.J.) scored four of the Hornets goals. Lombardo currently leads the ODAC with 26 goals.

Sophomore midfielder Kevin Rogers (Leesburg, Va.) collected another two goals and two assists for the Hornets. Junior face-off man Bo Delaney (Marstons Mills, Mass.) led the team with six ground balls.

THE RUNDOWN

Final: No. 1 RIT 13, Lynchburg 11

Records: Lynchburg 2-5, RIT 5-0

Venue: Mustang Stadium, Stevenson University, Owings Mills, Md.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• RIT got an early jump on Lynchburg with the first two goals of the game, but Rogers answered back with two goals of his own ending the first quarter tied, 2-2.

• The second quarter was a back-and-forth battle with three ties, but RIT was able to score one more goal over Lynchburg ending the half with a 6-5 lead.

• With three consecutive goals, RIT took a 10-7 lead halfway through the third. Lynchburg responded with a goal from sophomore attackman Colin Dean (Havre de Grace, Md.) assisted by freshman attackman A.J. Nieves (Centreville, Va.) and an unassisted goal from Lombardo, closing the gap to one goal.

• After RIT scored the first two goals of the fourth, Lynchburg cut the lead to one with 10:30 remaining on goals by Lombardo and senior attackman Colin McGuire (Odenton, Md.). The Tigers capitalized on a man-up opportunity with 6:52 remaining, giving the top-ranked team in the country some breathing room and bringing the score to its final standing.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Hornets will stay in Maryland to face Nazareth on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Mustang Stadium.

--LC--