• Senior Michael LeClair posted four points (1g, 3a) to finish second in HPU’s history in assists (77) trailing only Matt Thistle.
• Junior Chris Young scored three goals after halftime to record the first hat trick of his High Point career.
• Junior Peyton Garrett scored three points for the second time in his career with a goal and two assists.
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men’s lacrosse team saw its 2017 season come to an end with a 16-11 setback to Air Force on Saturday in Vert Stadium.
The Panthers (4-10, 2-5) fell behind 11-3 at the half, but responded with a 6-1 run to pull within three in the fourth quarter. However, the Falcons (10-5, 6-1) answered each time HPU cut their lead to three and held on for the win.
“Today my heart hurts for our seniors. The only goal for the day was to have an opportunity to coach these guys on Monday and unfortunately we struggled in the first half and put ourselves in too deep of a hole,” head coach Jon Torpey said. “This was a special group of seniors and the fight they showed today was something they have brought to the table for the past four years. Their impact on this program will be felt for years to come.”
Leading the second-half offensive output, junior Chris Young tallied three goals after the break to record his first career hat trick. On the other hand, freshman Mitchel Snyder netted two first-half goals to get the offense going.
In the cage, sophomore Tim Troutner Jr. stopped nine shots while picking up three ground balls and forcing a turnover. In total, the Panthers caused nine turnovers as senior Tanner Landstra, sophomore Griff Caligiuri and freshman Nate Carter all forced two apiece.
Senior Michael LeClair paced the squad with four points (1g, 3a) to finish his career at second in HPU history in assists (77) and third in points (162) and goals (85). Meanwhile, senior Sean Harrison dished out two helpers on the day.
Rounding out the scoring, junior Peyton Garrett recorded his second career three-point game with a goal and two assists. In his final game in Vert Stadium, senior Cole Carns netted two goals while juniors Connor Robinson and Jason Ashwood each scored a goal each.
Air Force opened the game with an explosive start scoring the game’s first eight goals in the first 18 minutes of action. From there, the visitors built an 11-3 halftime edge.
However, Garrett scored before Young tallied back-to-back goals before Carns scored his second goal of the game to make it 11-7 with 3:13 left in the third. After the Falcons answered, LeClair beat the third-quarter buzzer and Ashwood scored to pull the Purple & White within three (12-9, 13:34).
From there, HPU cut the deficit to three on two more occasions, but couldn’t get any closer as Air Force closed out the 16-11 victory.