St. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The Montevallo men's lacrosse squad advanced the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Semifinals after defeating Shorter, 26-8, in round one.
 
The Falcons struck first with an unassisted strike from senior midfielder Connor Frederick. Montevallo faceoff specialist Gerry York kicked off his perfect 8-8 first quarter with a win and an immediate shot before Scott Friant took advantage of an extra-man opportunity to give UM a 2-0 lead. Junior Zach Laberge made it three unanswered just seconds later off another York faceoff win. Shorter found the mark before Frederick's goal at the 6:00 mark extended Montevallo's lead to 4-1. Friant and Griffin Brennan scored back-to-back goals to close out the quarter with a 6-1 Falcon advantage. 
 
Shorter opened the second quarter scoring with a goal inside the opening minute. Frederick answered with his third goal of the first have just 40-seconds later. All-PBC First Team attacker Trevayne Hunter got in on the scoring with an unassisted goal with 10:56 remaining. The junior then gave the Falcons a 9-2 lead and force Shorter to call timeout. Zach Laberge found his first goal of the day before Hunter scored his third goal in as many minutes to put Montevallo up 11-2. The Hawks showed signs of life and cut the lead down to 11-3 but Cole Tenger shut the door with goal off the following faceoff win. Morgan Trites scored his first goal of the day at the 3:56 mark in the second before Hunter piled on a fourth second-quarter goal to go into the half leading 14-4. 
 
Montevallo's offense erupted for ten goals in the third sparked by a trio of goals just two minutes into the half from Colman Hargis, Adam Bryant and Caden Chalut. Junior attacker Griffin Brennan found the mark for a man-up goal off a pass from Hargis to put Montevall on top 18-4 with 11:26 to go. Chalut added a second goal to his stat column before Nick Givens got in on the action to give Montevallo 20 goals for the third-straight game. Sophomore Jack Morris hit the back of the net before Chalut scored his third goal of the third quarter. Trites and Connor Ferguson added a pair of man-up goals to give Montevallo total control of the game, 24-5.
 
The Falcons offense laid off the scoring barrage in the fourth with Trites and sophomore Bryce Pegram scoring the only Montevallo goals of the quarter. Shorter would go on to add three goals against the Falcons reserves but UM would take the game 26-8.
 
 Montevallo's 26-8 win over Shorter sets a matchup with No. 2 Flagler on Sunday, April 30 at 3 p.m.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Montevallo 26 | Shorter 8
Records: Montevallo 11-6 (3-2 PBC) | Shorter 3-12 (0-5 PBC)
Location: Flagler Lacrosse Field | St. Augustine, Fla.
 
GAME NOTES

• Montevallo's dominant offense outshoot the Hawks 64-24 overall with a 39-14 shots on goal advantage while winning 34 of the games 37 faceoffs. 
• The Falcons took advantage of Shorter penalties scoring five goals on nine attempts. 
• Trevayne Hunter lead Montevallo's offense with four goals on five shots on goal with an assist for five points. 
• Morgan Trites, Connor Frederick, and Caden Chalut each scored a trio of goals. 
• First Team All-PBC selection Gerry York was a perfect 14-14 on faceoffs with a team-high 12 ground balls. 

 
UP NEXT: The Falcons will take on host Flagler in the semifinals of the PBC Tournament on Sunday, April 30 at 3 p.m.