Box Score Albion, Mich. – The Transylvania men's lacrosse team was unable to sustain a fast start on Saturday evening as the Albion College Britons handed the Pioneers a 15-13 defeat at Albion's Alumni Field.
The Pioneers had their four-match win streak snapped to drop to 5-2 on the season while Albion strengthened its record to 4-0 for the 2021 campaign.
Trenton Sneed piloted the Pioneers with a big night composed of a 5-point hat-trick, but a 7-1 scoring run by the Britons in the third quarter, including a burst of five straight goals, turned the match in Albion's favor.
After two pivotal wins at home, the Pioneers headed north of Lexington for the second time this season and lit the torch quickly with three unanswered goals in the first six minutes of the match. The Britons ended a stretch of nearly eight scoreless minutes for their first goal of the night, cutting Transy's lead to 3-1. The teams traded goals the rest of the quarter as the Pioneers surged 5-3 into the second quarter.
The Pioneers opened up the second quarter with two of the first three goals to grow their lead to 7-4 with 10 minutes left in the half, but Albion scored the final two goals of the half to draw within one at 7-6 by halftime.
The Britons established momentum in the third quarter, outscoring Transylvania 6-2 to carry a 12-9 advantage into the final quarter. The Britons notched their largest lead of the night with a goal two minutes into the fourth period for a 13-9 lead.
The Pioneers then erupted for three goals in just over one minute as Jacob Miller, Bryce Lowe, and Sneed all took turns torching the net, suddenly drawing the Pioneers within one of Albion at 13-12 with 10:06 to go in regulation.
Albion reestablished a cushion with a score one minute later for a 14-12 lead before Sneed found paydirt again with 8:37 to go, slicing the Transy deficit to 14-13. But Albion tacked one on more insurance goal with over six minutes left and held off the surging Pioneers for the rest of the night to win by two.
Andrew Hamill matched Sneed with three goals and added one assist in defeat. Chase Parker led all players with three caused turnovers while Peyton Bray tallied a match-high seven ground balls. Michael Webb collected 12 saves in goal for the Pioneers. The Pioneers won 22 of 32 face-offs and outshot the Britons 32-27 in shots on goal but Albion goalie Jack Gogonis fended off the Pioneers with 19 saves.
The Pioneers return to play on Saturday, March 27 to host the Elmhurst University Bluejays in Lexington, Kentucky. Opening face-off is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at Pat Deacon Stadium.
For more on Transylvania men's lacrosse, follow @Transy_Lax on Twitter
