Greer, Canon, and Shackelford Pace Eagles on the Road at Montreat

BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. - Reinhardt Men's Lacrosse seized control in the opening quarter and never let it go Saturday, beating Montreat 17-9 after Austin Scales scored on the first possession and the Eagles raced to a 7-2 lead by the end of the first quarter at Pulliam Stadium.

That fast start set the tone for Reinhardt, which improved its position behind a balanced attack and a steady advantage at the faceoff stripe. Scales not only opened the scoring at the 14:52 mark of the first quarter, he also won 21 faceoffs and added a goal, helping the Eagles generate possession after possession. Holden Whitecliffe made it 4-0 with a man-up goal off an assist from Nolan Marsh, Alex Mabrey pushed the margin to 6-0 at 8:13, and Rett Canon scored late in the quarter to cap the early burst.

Montreat briefly cut into the lead in the second quarter, pulling within 7-4 after goals from Eli Graziosi and Nickolas Hargett. Reinhardt answered quickly. Luke Greer scored at 7:46 to restore control, and Canon struck again with 2:02 left in the half to send the Eagles into the break with a 10-4 advantage. Reinhardt matched Montreat 3-3 in the second quarter, then delivered the decisive stretch in the third by outscoring the home team 5-1.

Benjamin Shackelford opened that third-quarter run at 10:05, Whitecliffe followed 13 seconds later on another setup from Marsh, and Reid McDowell added a goal at 6:30. Greer then buried a man-up chance at 3:19, assisted by Whitecliffe, as Reinhardt built a 15-4 cushion. Greer finished with a team-high four goals on 16 shots, while Shackelford and Canon added three goals apiece. Reinhardt finished with 17 goals and four assists on 51 shots, including 37 on goal.

The Eagles also got a complete game in net from Michael Scoleri, who played all 60 minutes and made 11 saves. Montreat put 20 shots on goal and scored nine times, with four of those goals coming in the fourth quarter as Yasiel Sihombing and Landon LaGro helped lead a late push. Montreat goalkeeper Jay Chance kept the margin from growing further with 20 saves, but Reinhardt's control of possessions, reflected in a 21-8 edge in faceoffs won and a 50-29 advantage in ground balls, was too much to overcome.

Reinhardt added the final touches in the fourth quarter when Shackelford scored off an assist from Joey Amatulli to make it 16-6, and Zach Dixon delivered the last goal of the afternoon with 2:08 remaining to seal the 17-9 road win. 

The win keeps the Eages in the top third of the AAC standings with just two weeks left in the season. Reinhardt has a tough week in Florida this upcoming week at Webber and Keiser, which will have a deciding factor on the conference and NAIA final standings. They face Webber on Thursday this week, and then they will wrap up the Florida trip on Saturday at Keiser.