WINCHESTER, Va. - The Neumann University men's lacrosse team suffered its first setback of the season on Wednesday evening, dropping an 11-7 result on the road at Shenandoah University in non-conference action.
 
Rich Marshall (2 g, 1 a) continued his stellar start to the season with a three point night, while Max Nice (2 g) and Kyle Daly (2 a) also tallied multi-point nights. John McGrath and Jake Methlie combined to win 15-of-22 face-offs and Jake Marchiafava took the loss in goal with eight saves on the night.
 
Looking to win its fourth straight game to open the season, Neumann traveled south to Virginia to take on the Hornets of Shenandoah University. In a fairly quiet first quarter, the Knights got the scoring started via a Wyatt Belotti goal just 1:06 into the contest to take an early 1-0 lead. The visitors' attack would go cold the rest of the period though, as the Hornets shut things down by conceding nothing the remainder of the frame. The hosts would tie the matchup with 3:57 remaining in the quarter to make it 1-1 moving into the second stanza.
 
Neumann finally broke through with a second marker at the start of the second quarter. Nice scored 38 seconds into the period to give the Knights a 2-1 lead. The advantage wouldn't last long though, as the Hornets again had an answer at the other end, while continuing to stifle the Neumann offense. Shenandoah tallied twice midway through the frame and then both defenses took over as the game headed to halftime with the hosts leading 3-2.
 
After the halftime intermission, it was the Hornets who struck first to start the third quarter, finding the back of the net at the 12:22 mark to double their lead at 4-2. Marshall got a goal back for the Knights a minute later, but two Shenandoah goals in the middle of the period gave the hosts a commanding 6-3 lead. The game looked to be heading to the fourth at the same score-line, but Neumann got just the break it needed late in the quarter to turn the tide of the contest. Emmett Wexler fired home a goal with just one second left on the clock to cut the Hornet lead to two at 6-4 and rejuvenate the Knights as they readied for the final frame.
 
The Wexler goal proved to be a major momentum swinger for Neumann on the evening. Using the marker as a way to rally the team, the Knights went on a 3-0 run to start the fourth quarter and retake the lead 7-6. Brett McLaughlin scored 38 seconds into the period, then Nice and Marshall followed up with a pair of goals just minutes later to put Neumann back out in front. Unfortunately for the visitors, those three goals would be the last the team would score all night. Shenandoah again shutdown the potent Knight offense and began to start rolling at the other end of the field. The Hornets tied the game at 7-7 at the 7:22 mark, then began to pull away late in the contest. After equalizing things, Shenandoah scored three times in just 1:36 of game action to take a 10-7 advantage. The Knights tried to find a late answer, but an 11th Hornet goal with just over a minute left to play sealed the 11-7 non-conference win for Shenandoah.
 
Neumann (3-1) will return to action with another road non-conference game at King's College on this Saturday, March 5th. Game-time is slated for 1:00 PM.