GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. – The Albright Lions men's lacrosse team pulled away from Gwynedd Mercy on a cold Wednesday afternoon to earn an 8-3 road win in non-conference play.
 
With the win, the Lions snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 2-4 overall with one non-conference game remaining. Meanwhile, the Griffins drop to 2-2 overall on the season.
 
The Griffins opened the scoring just 1:09 into the game with a goal on their opening offensive possession of the game to take an early 1-0 lead. Facing windy conditions, the Lions were able to strike back at the 3:49-mark of the first quarter on a goal from freshman Brandon Hall after receiving a pass from classmate Shane Early. The Griffins retook the lead at the 10:28-mark of the second quarter before the Lions tallied two goals within 33 seconds of each other to take a 3-2 lead that held into halftime. Freshman Ethan Gain tied the game at the 8:15-mark of the second quarter, and classmate James Gorman pushed the Lions ahead at the 7:42-mark just after assisting on Gain's goal.
 
Gain would extend the Lions lead to 4-2 with his second goal of the game at the 8:13-mark of the third quarter after the offenses started the half slow. The Griffins cut the lead to one at 4-3 just three minutes later, but that would be the final goal they would score for the rest of the game. Freshman Connor Graser re-extended the Lions lead to two at the 4:04-mark of the third quarter, and Gorman pushed it to 6-3 at the 12:15-mark of the fourth quarter with his second goal of the game. The Lions closed the game out with two more goals in the final six minutes of the game to put the finishing touches on the win. Senior JJ Boliaux scored while the Lions were a man down just after the Griffins turned it over, and Gorman completed his hat trick with 4:02 left in the contest for the Lions eighth goal of the game.
 
The Lions outshot the Griffins 22-10 in the second half to ultimately hold a 36-25 shot advantage for the game overall. Albright held a 23-10 shots on goal advantage, and forced 20 Griffin turnovers. The Lions also dominated in the faceoff circle with by going 9-of-13, while holding a sizable 27-12 advantage in ground balls. Gorman picked up four points on three goals and one assist, and Gain added two goals. Hall, Boliaux, and Graser all scored their second goals of the season, and senior goalkeeper Ryan Aler earned the win after making seven saves in net. Gwynedd Mercy goalkeeper Chris Burns held strong with 15 saves despite the loss.
 
Albright will return to action on Wednesday, March 21^st when they will host Delaware Valley in non-conference play at 4 p.m.