BANNER ELK, N.C. - The Brevard College men's lacrosse team (2-12) dropped their fourth-straight contest by three goals or less Tuesday evening in Banner Elk, N.C., falling to the Lees-McRae Bobcats (4-7) by a close final of 14-13.
The Tornados were lead sophomore Hewitt Farr (Santa Fe, N.M.) as the sophomore turned in his best performance as a member of the blue and white finishing with a team-high four goals and one assist on 10 shot attempts. Senior Alex Bazzell (Framingham, Mass.) added three goals and one assist, while the freshman trio of Kyle Hunziker (Gainesville, Fla.), Jackson McKaig (Gainesville, Fla.) and Jack Shade (Nacberth, Pa.) each contributed two goals apiece, while McKaig added a game-high three assists.
For the Bobcats, Alec Molander lead the way with a game-high five goals and three assists, while Blaine Stottlar and Dane Carney each added three scores apiece.
Sophomore Peyton Mooney (Vaughn, Ontario) and freshman Chris Stallings (Bel Air, Md.) split time in net for the Tornados as Mooney impressed in his 30 minutes of work, saving five of nine shots, while allowing just four goals. Stallings was handed the loss for the blue and white as the true freshman allowed 10 goals on 14 shot attempts, while collecting four saves.
Lees-McRae goalie Cameron Castle played the entire 60 minutes in net for the Bobcats, allowing 13 goals on 26 shot attempts and finishing with a game-high 13 saves.
On a night where the Tornados controlled nearly every statistical category, including a 38-36 shot advantage, 26-23 ground ball edge, a 12-9 caused turnover margin and a 22-26 turnover benefit, Lees-McRae would benefit from a fourth quarter run that sealed the game.
Following a Farr goal from McKaig at the 8:08 mark of the first quarter, Lees-McRae scored three unanswered goals to take a 3-1 advantage with 5:31 remaining in the first quarter. Brevard answered the Bobcats with a 3-0 run of their own over the final three minutes of the first, taking a 4-3 edge into the second quarter.
The Bobcats tied the game 4-4 just under two-minutes in the second frame, but the Tornados rolled off an impressive 4-0 run over the final 11-minutes of the first half to take an 8-4 advantage into halftime, aided by two Bazzell unassisted goals.
The third quarter belonged to the Bobcats, however as the Banner Elk, N.C. native ended the quarter on a 6-2 run to tie the game at 10-10 heading into the deciding fourth quarter.
The Bobcats took an early 11-10 edge at the 14:21 mark of the fourth quarter, while McKaig found the answer for Brevard just over two minutes later, tying the match at 11-11.
Lees-McRae's Dane Carney scored a go ahead goal with 10:30 remaining in regulation, but the never die Tornados answered quickly on a Hunziker score from senior Nick Beir (Cummings, Ga.).
However, the Bobcats scored the eventual game-winning goals at the 8:49 and 7:38 marks to take a 14-12 lead with tie winding down.
Brevard cut the deficit to one score with 6:03 remaining as Farr and Bazzell connected on a man up advantage, but time ran out on the Tornados as they fell 14-13 on the road.
The Tornados will look to play spoiler this coming weekend as they travel to Wingate, N.C. to tangle with South Atlantic Conference rival the Wingate Bulldogs, Saturday, Apr. 15 at 3 p.m.