The No. 3 Lenoir-Rhyne men’s lacrosse team opened the 2023 campaign with a 15-goal victory over Maryville on Saturday afternoon at home, 19-4. After Maryville netted the first goal of the game, LR responded with a 16-1 scoring run to dominate the Saints.

The Saints scored first at the 10:45 mark of the first quarter but then were held scoreless until the 5:42 mark of the second quarter. Bryce Reece scored the Bears first goal of the season off an assist by Toron Eccleston which opened a 7-0 scoring spurt.

Six different players scored a goal in the 7-0 run which ended with Matt Martyn’s second goal for the Saints. LR would end the half on a 3-0 spurt with a pair of man-up goals from Myles Moffat and Joe Venazio. It was more of the same in the second half as LR scored the first six to make it a 9-0 run.

Eccleston and Nate Ashley each added man-up goals in the third quarter and Moffat and Venazio tallied man-up goals in the fourth. The six man-up goals are the most in a single-game in program history.

LR held a 41-31 advantage in shots and 31-13 edge in shots on goal. The Bears dominated the ground ball column, taking a 40-18 edge. The Bears were 6-for-6 on extra man opportunities and held Maryville to 0-for-5 with the extra man.

Eccleston finished with four goals and an assist and Moffat and Riley Seay had three goals and two assists each.Will Canata had one goal and two helpers. John Paulus won 11 of 18 face offs and grabbed a game-high seven ground balls and Victor Powell and Nate Ashley each caused three turnovers.

Nate Hoffman earned his first career win with seven saves in his three quarters of action. Rob Pensabene came in and held the Saints scoreless in the fourth quarter with a pair of stops.

The Bears are now 4-9 all-time in season openers but own a 4-2 mark over the past six years. This was the first game for LR since May 15, a span of 265 days.

This marked the second meeting between the programs with LR winning both times in Hickory. The Bears improve to 71-29 all-time at home and have won 11 straight between the bricks.

LR won its 30th straight game against an unranked opponent. Moffat surpassed Ned Kaish for sole possession of third place in career goals at LR.

Eccleston also had four goals and an assist in last year’s season opener.

The Bears are 1-0 to start the season. LR will return to action Saturday when they travel to North Greenville for another noon face off.