BANNER ELK, N.C. –
Ayden Fraelle had a standout game for Lees-McRae men's lacrosse as the freshman from Peoria, Illinois tallied five goals and one assist in the Bobcats' 15-14 overtime loss to Great Midwest Athletic Conference member Malone on Saturday.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Malonee – 15; Lees-McRae – 14
LOCATION: Tate Field
– Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Malone (1-0/0-0), Lees-McRae (0-3/0-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Malone's Zac Smargiasso found the back of the net with 2:59 left in the first overtime period to give the Pioneers the historic first win in the program's history.
- The Pioneers opened up the game with three goals in a little over six minutes before Bobcat Charlie Taylor scored with 7:46 left in the first quarter. Malone took the opening quarter 5-2 after Taylor tallied his second marker of the contest with 32 seconds remaining in the period.
- Lees-McRae went on a quick 2-0 scoring burst with a man-up goal via Fraelle and a goal by Cyrus Henderson with 9:16 remaining in the first half. Malone answered with three consecutive goals at 9-4 and Fraelle closed the opening half with another goal as the Bobcats trailed 9-5.
- In the third quarter, the Bobcats stormed back with goals from Clay Adams, Spence Combs, and Kevin Murphy as Lees-McRae cut the deficit to one goal at the 9:27 mark. K. Murphy connected on another goal to keep the Bobcats within one of the lead at the end of the third period.
- Fraelle tallied back-to-back goals to gain the one-goal advantage for Lees-McRae early in the fourth and Cade Andres increased the Bobcat lead to two with 10:52 left in regulation.
- Malone then answered the Bobcat run with a three-goal swing on their end with Smargiasso finding the back of the net to regain the goal advantage for the Pioneers.
- Combs tied the contest once again for Lees-McRae with his second goal of the game at the 7:15 mark of the fourth quarter. Fraelle sent the game into overtime with 40 seconds left in regulation after a pass from Combs. Jones Hobgood had the final chance in regulation for the Bobcats, but his shot sailed wide after picking up a ground ball at the face-off dot.
- Combs, Taylor, and K. Murphy each recorded multiple goals along with Fraelle in today's 15-14 loss for the Bobcats and Combs had four points on the day.
- Liam Murphy had 12 stops in the cage for the Bobcats and Logan Ryan hauled in eight ground balls.
- Hobgood went 19-29 in the face-off battle for the Bobcats and Ryan caused three turnovers on Saturday.
FOR THE PIONEERS:
- Talon Heath had a game-high six goals and eight points to lead Malone to their first victory in the program's first-ever game. Ramsey Burnard followed with four goals and Smargiasso had a hat-trick.
- Phillip Bell earned the victory in net for the Pioneers as he recorded 18 saves in the contest.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae heads to the campus of Anderson University on Wednesday, Feb. 15 to face the Trojans. The game is slated for a 7 p.m. start in Anderson, South Carolina.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
