For the seventh straight time, the No. 6 Lenoir-Rhyne men’s lacrosse team defeated Mars Hill with the past four all coming by more than an 18-goal margin as the Bears topped the Lions 21-2. LR has now won 13 straight at home which ties the program record for most consecutive home victories. Toron Eccleston and Joe Venazio led the Bears with three goals apiece.

The Bears held the Lions to one goal in each half including being scoreless for a 50:09 stretch during the contest. As the Bears closed the first half on a 8-0 run including a hat trick by Venazio and a pair of goals by Myles Moffat.

Bears won all twelve faceoffs in the first half and 21-of-27 for the game. Eccleston scored the first goal of the game then got back-to-back goals in the third period for a hat trick. The senior has at least goals in three of the first five games this season.

The Bears did not allow a goal in the third period as LR grew their lead to 14-1 heading into the final frame. Ryan Langhoff, Nicco Moriates, Brad Maslowski, Kane Smith all scored their first collegiate goal in the fourth quarter.

After thirteen different goal scorers on Saturday against Lewis, the Bears improved that number tonight as fifteen different players scored under the lights on Wednesday. Four different goalkeepers made saves led by five by Rob Pensabene. After the game was tied at 1, the Bears scored 19 unanswered.

This was the 125th all-time win for Greg Paradine and the men’s lacrosse program. Coach P is now 10-4 all-time against Mars Hill and 5-1 against the Lions at Moretz Stadium.
The Bears have now won nine straight against SAC opponents. LR is 61-23 all-time in the month of March. The Bears also improve to 106-3 all-time when leading after three quarters and have beaten 32 straight unranked opponents.

This is the earliest in the year the Bears have met Mars Hill since the 2013 season when they played on Feb. 23.

L-R is now 4-1 overall, 1-0 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Bears will remain home to host the No. 18 Belmont Abbey Crusaders at 4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.