Salisbury, Md. -- The University of Lynchburg men's lacrosse team fell to Salisbury, the reigning NCAA Division III champion, 13-8 on Saturday afternoon. 

Riley Hastings and Spencer Vandenberg were the leading point scorers for the Hornets with three each, Dom Zingo caused five turnovers, and Tyler Hadley saved seven shots adding five ground balls.

The Sea Gulls scored first just 38 seconds into play, but the Hornets were not out of contention for the victory until midway through the third. Hastings, who scored all three of his points on goals, tied the game up early for the Hornets. A man-up goal from Vandenberg assisted by Evans and a Jake Rust goal assisted by Vandenberg had Lynchburg in the lead 3-2 at the end of the first quarter. 

Hastings and Vandenberg both scored again in the second quarter, but the Sea Gulls doubled Lynchburg's output in the second and led 6-5 at the break. 

A 6-1 third quarter for Salisbury made the difference in the game as Hastings netted his third-career hat trick and first of the season in between all the Salisbury scoring. The Sea Gulls took 12 shots in the third and found the back of the net on half of them. It was only Hastings' fifth game without an assist through 29 games played. He has 34 assists early on in his career. 

Finn Schmidt scored twice in the fourth with Evans tallying another assist, but Lynchburg didn't have enough time to mount the comeback and fell to the Sea Gulls 13-8. 

The Hornets (1-2) host Denison on Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m. The Hornets are currently ranked 11th in the national top-20 ranking, and the Big Red are 18th. 

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--LYN--