Written by Sports Information Student Assistant, Jake Sipes-Salter

HANOVER, Ind. – In a contest that was largely dictated by the faceoff, the Hanover men's lacrosse team fell in a 17-4 decision versus the Albion (Mich.) Britons.

Albion (4-2 overall) got on the board first on a goal from Scott Shepard that put the Panthers (2-4 overall) in a 1-0 hole with 11:40 remaining in the first quarter. A trio of scores followed, before junior Ian Kimmins (Dayton, Ohio) found the back of the net via a pass from senior Dallas Fonner (Evansville, Ind.) that cut it to a 4-1 HC deficit. The Britons would go on to register three more goals before the end of the frame, which put Hanover down by a 7-1 tally.

In the second quarter, the Britons notched five more scores, holding the Blue and Red without a goal, which put them up 12-1 at halftime. Defensively, senior Noah Dubrava (Centerville, Ohio) made six saves in the first half, while senior Andrew Trachtman (Carmel, Ind.) forced three Briton turnovers. Additionally, freshman Eli Jeffries (Evansville, Ind.) caused three giveaways while collecting a squad-high three groundballs.

The third quarter scoring kicked off when Kimmins once again found the net, this time thanks to an assist from senior Noah King (Lexington, Ky.) with 8:09 left in the third quarter. However, Albion got three more goals to end the frame, giving them a 15-2 upper hand.

The Britons and the Panthers traded goals in the fourth period, with junior Eric Hopkins (Evansville, Ind.) and Kimmins zipping shots past the goalkeeper at 3:12 and 0:59, respectively. In the second half, sophomore Sean O'Meara (Lexington, Ky.) made 10 saves in relief of Dubrava, with five coming in each quarter.

Overall, the Blue and Red made 17 saves while seeing 50 shots from the Britons. In clear attempts, the teams were essentially neck-and-neck, with Hanover converting on 17 to Albion's 14 successful tries. However, the Britons held a major advantage in faceoffs, winning 21-of-23 from the "x" in the contest.

Hanover will look to regain momentum when they host their first Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference matchup of the year versus Transylvania (Ky.) at 4 p.m., Wednesday, March 11.