MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The Montevallo men's lacrosse team earned a 12-9 win over Rockhurst on Thursday behind a standout performance from junior midfielder Zach Laberge. 
 
The Falcons looked to strike quickly off an opening face-off win from Gerry York, but Jackson Klewchuk's shot at 14:22 just missed the mark.
 
Rockhurst would eventually open the scoring with 8:40 to go before Connor Frederick knotted the game at 1-1 just two minutes later. The Hawks would go on to add a man-up goal and another in the final seconds to lead 3-1 after the first. 
 
Montevallo came out firing in the second with four consecutive shots before a Rockhurst penalty gave the Falcons a man-up opportunity. Freshman midfielder Morgan Trites found the back of the net just eight seconds into the penalty off a pass from Scott Friant. Following a fourth Hawk goal, Laberge hit the mark for his first goal of the night to pull the Falcons back to a 4-3 deficit at the half. 
 
Laberge's second goal of the game brought Montevallo back level with 11:37 to go in the third. Senior Chaiton Williams gave the UM its first lead of the game with an unassisted strike midway through the quarter. RU tied the game at 5-5 just before Jacob Obee scored his first goal of the season to make it a 6-5 game. Rockhurst finished the quarter with three unanswered to take a two-goal lead into the fourth. 
 
With the Falcons trailing 8-6, Trevayne Hunter and Obee scored back-to-back goals just over a minute apart to knot the game at eight. Senior attacker Scott Friant's eighth goal of the year lifted Montevallo to a 9-8 lead with 9:55 to play. Two more Laberge goals sandwiched a Rockhurst goal to give the Falcons an 11-9 advantage in the final four minutes. Williams added the final punctuation mark to Montevallo's 12-9 victory. 
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 12 | Rockhurst 9
Records: Montevallo 7-4 | Rockhurst 5-3 
Location: Montevallo Lacrosse Stadium | Montevallo, Ala.
 
GAME NOTES 

• Zach Laberge finished his night with a career-high four goals on eight shots with seven shots on goal. 
• Gerry York put together a solid night with an 8-for-11 face off mark and a game-high five ground balls. 
• Chaiton Williams and Jacob Obee each scored a pair of goals. 
• Montevallo was nearly perfect in clear attempts with just one failed clear in the third for a 20-for-21 line. 
• The Falcons just edged Rockhurst with a 35-34 advantage in ground balls while losing the turnover battle 20-17. 

UP NEXT: Montevallo goes on the road to start conference play at Flagler College on Saturday, March 25 at 1 p.m.