GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Albright men's lacrosse team battled late against conference foe Messiah but ultimately fell 14-10 on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions record now stands at 3-5 and 1-1 in the Middle Atlantic Conference, while the Falcons improve to 4-4 and 2-0 in the MAC.
The Falcons jumped out to an early 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter led by Lorenzo DiPasquale, who recorded a pair of goals.
Cam Cetrone halted Messiah's hot start when the senior scored an unassisted goal with 10:59 remaining in the second quarter.
After Messiah responded with a goal of its own three minutes later, Cetrone netted his second goal of the game with 4 minutes remaining in the opening half.
Blake Knoblach extended the Falcons lead to 8-2 before entering halftime.
The Falcons offense continued to remain red hot in the third quarter with the team scoring two unanswered goals from Liam Lilienthal and Joseph Franken.
Centrone responded by continuing to battle at the front of the net and scoring two goals within 27 seconds of one another to keep Albright within reach.
Messiah would go on to score four of the next five goals spanning the third and fourth quarter with the lone Lions goal being scored by
Derek Stump in the final minute of the third quarter.
The Lions mounted their comeback with six remaining in the final quarter. Despite trailing 14-5, Albright continued to battle scoring five unanswered goals. Cetrone recorded his fifth and final goal of the match with 5:57 left on the clock.
Nick Tonno scored his first of the game over a minute later to pull the Lions within seven.
Tyler Strayline added a goal of his own to narrow Messiah's lead to 14-8. Tonno and Strayline each recorded their second goals in the final minute of play, but the Falcons held on for the win.
???????Cetrone finished with a game-high five goals, while
Derek Stump recorded a five-point game with one goal and four assists.
Albright returns to action on Wednesday when the team returns home to take on MAC opponent Widener. Face off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
