GREENWOOD, S.C. – Montevallo men's lacrosse opened Peach Belt Conference play with a 16-13 road loss to Lander on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Falcons struck first with a Matthew Boas goal in the opening two minutes before Michael Howkins and Morgan Trites pushed Montevallo out to a 3-0 lead with 11:04 on the clock. With 10:20 remaining, Aidan Collery's unassisted effort extended UM's lead before Boas added a second goal on a man-up chance to give Montevallo a 5-0 lead early. Boas completed his first-quarter hat trick to answer Lander's first goal of the day to keep the Falcons up by five. The Bearcats ended the opening quarter on a 2-0 run to cut the lead down to 6-3 heading into the second.
 
Lander's attack tied the game with a trio of unanswered goals to open the second quarter. Junior goalkeeper Alex Egorshin tallied four saves over the next five minutes to keep the game knotted at 6-6 before Boas scored his fourth of the day to give UM a one-goal cushion with 5:47 left in the half. Egorshin added another pair of saves ahead of Boas' fifth goal of the half that gave Montevallo an 8-6 lead. The Bearcats scored in the final two minutes of the half to go to the locker room with Montevallo leading 8-7.
 
Collery found the back of the net at the 11:59 mark of the third quarter to push the Falcons to a two-goal lead. Lander scored back-to-back goals to tie the game at 9-9 with just 6:43 left in the third. Boas' sixth goal of the day came at the 5:36 mark of the third and lifted the Falcons to a 10-9 advantage. Lander would go on to find three unanswered goals to jump out in front with 3:01 on the clock. Johns Spaans scored the final goal of the third with just over a minute remaining to bring the Falcons' back within one going into the fourth.
 
Lander opened the fourth on the attack with a trio of unanswered goals in the first four minutes to jump out in front 15-11. With 6:38 remaining, William Angus looked to spark a comeback with an unassisted goal, but Lander answered just 34 seconds later to hold its four-goal lead. With a final UM goal scored by Caden Chalut in the final two minutes, Montevallo fell to Lander 16-13.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: No. 19 Montevallo 13 | Lander 16
Records: No. 19 Montevallo 9-4 (0-1 PBC) | Lander 6-6 (1-0 PBC)
Location: Van Taylor Stadium
 
GAME NOTES

• Lander held a slim 43-42 lead in ground balls on the day while the Falcons held a 19-13 advantage in faceoff wins.
• The Falcons lost the turnover battle 26-12 with the Bearcats taking a 15-7 lead in caused turnovers.
• Matthew Boas led the game with six goals on seven shots with all seven shots on goal.
• Alex Eogrshin posted 17 saves on 47 shots faced with a season-high 16 goals allowed.

 
UP NEXT:  Montevallo is set to host No. 6 Flagler at 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 15.