GRANTHAM, Pa. – Sean Poole and Brayden Brown scored two goals apiece as the Lebanon Valley men's lacrosse team had its winning streak snapped with a 12-6 defeat at Messiah University on Wednesday evening.
 
The Dutchmen (6-2) were held to their lowest goal total of the season on a chilly night in Grantham. Messiah (3-3) got on the board first with a goal nearly three minutes in. LVC fired right back as Brown evened the score a little over a minute later. The Dutchmen took advantage of the first penalty of the game as Hayden Carling scored 25 seconds into the extra-man opportunity off an assist from Sam Spagnuolo. Brown put a shot wide before Ryan Grace had a shot saved. LVC kept the pressure on as Jacob Olson and Ethan Keenan had back-to-back shots saved halfway through the quarter.
 
Messiah was able to even the score on an unassisted goal with 6:13 remaining in the quarter. The teams battled over the next couple of minutes until the Falcons took the lead with their third unassisted goal of the game. Messiah rode the momentum into two more goals over the final two minutes to take a 5-2 advantage. The Falcons looked to add to the lead before the quarter ended as a shot went wide in the closing seconds.
 
The Dutchmen cut into the deficit early in the second as Poole scored his first goal of the game less than two minutes in. Carling and Keenan had shots saved over the next three minutes as LVC fought to close the gap even more. The Falcons countered with a strong five-minute stretch where they put five shots off target, Markley made one save, and a shot hit the post. Dylan Rinyak had a shot saved at the other end of the field during the run for LVC. The Falcons were able to add to their lead on a goal with 4:39 remaining in the half.
 
LVC's offensive struggles continued as they turned the ball over on their next two offensive possessions. Messiah kept firing shots towards goal, putting four more shots off target, one off the post, and Markley came up with another big save. The Dutchmen started to gain some momentum towards the end of the half as Keenan had a shot saved. Myers and Rinyak put shots wide before Grace had a shot saved right before the end of the half.
 
Messiah began the second half with a goal to increase the lead to 7-3. Myers had a shot saved, and then Carling put a shot wide. The Dutchmen had an extra-man opportunity four minutes into the half and fired shots at the goal. Carling, Poole, and Rinyak all had shots go wide before Carling put a shot on goal that was saved. Wyatt Shamer also had a shot saved a couple of minutes later.
 
Messiah put two shots off target before scoring to increase the lead to five with around five minutes to play in the quarter. A couple of minutes later, the Dutchmen scored as Carling found Rinyak open to cut the deficit to 8-4. The Falcons answered back, scoring in the final minute of the quarter to go up 9-4. Messiah forced a turnover off the following faceoff and sent a shot high as time expired.
 
The Falcons came out firing shots to begin the final quarter, as one shot went wide and Markley saved another. Myers put a shot high for the Dutchmen as the teams traded turnovers over the first five minutes. Rinyak had a shot saved, he put a shot wide, and then Grace had a shot go wide. The Falcons countered with a goal to push the advantage to six with 6:08 left.
 
LVC came right back as Connor Rowe won the faceoff, and a little over 30 seconds later, Brown fired a shot into the back of the net to make it a five-goal game. Poole scored with four minutes remaining as the Dutchmen were fighting off a penalty to get the lead to 10-6. Messiah responded with a pair of man-up goals over the final four minutes to set the final.
 
Inside the Box

• Poole scored two goals in a game for the second time in three games. The senior took three shots and scored his first career man-down goal.
• Brown scored a season-high two goals on five shots. The first-year has scored in all five games he has played this season.
• Carling had two points on one goal and one assist. The senior continued his point streak as he has a point in every game this year.
• Rowe won 13 of 21 faceoff attempts and picked up a team-high six ground balls. He has won at least 10 faceoffs in five of the past six games. Rowe already has 105 faceoff wins in eight games.
• Sheadan Makosy caused two turnovers and picked up four ground balls. Connor Mulada had four ground balls as well.
• Rinyak scored his seventh goal of the season. He has recorded a point in seven of the eight games.
• The Dutchmen were 20-25 on clear attempts and 14-22 on faceoffs.

Up Next
LVC will look to rebound on Saturday as they travel to Reading, where they will face Alvernia University. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. against the Golden Wolves.

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