VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia - The Virginia Wesleyan men's lacrosse team defeated the Monarchs of Methodist University 9-5 on Saturday afternoon in the 2020 home opener at Birdsong Field in Virginia Beach, VA. The Marlins move to 2-0 on the season while the Monarchs are now 1-2.

GAME INFORMATION
The game was the first of 11 home matches for the Marlins in the 2020 season. 

INSIDE THE SCORE
The game began with the Marlins getting on the scoreboard first with a goal from Greg Gaetano three and a half minutes into the game off the assist from Joey Rayman. Virginia Wesleyan continued to roll through the first quarter with a pair of goals added to the board one from Mark Sprague and a second from Gaetano to lead 3-0 at the end of the first 15 minutes of action.

The Monarchs of Methodist found their first goal of the contest 19 seconds into the second quarter on a man-up goal from Bryce Kephart putting the score at 3-1. VWU took control from there putting two more goals on the board before the halftime horn. Sprague scored an unassisted goal in a man-down situation for the fourth VWU point and Jason Thibeault scored the fifth goal, also unassisted, to lead 5-1 at the break.

Methodist came out of the break putting two goals on the board over the course of six minutes to climb within two of the Marlins, 5-3. VWU added a solo goal to their side of the scoreboard in the third quarter on an unassisted shot from Andrew Johnson putting Virginia Wesleyan up 6-3 as the teams headed into the final 15 minutes of play.

Joey Rayman found his first goal of the game nine seconds into the final quarter off a pass from Nathan Sheirburn giving VWU a four-goal lead. Methodist responded 41 seconds later (14:10) with a goal of their own again closing the gap to three goals. The Marlins kicked things up scoring goals eight (13:00) and nine (8:40) to increase their lead to five off scoring plays from Rayman and Brendyn Hogue. The final eight and a half minutes saw just one more goal as the Monarchs scored their fifth and final goal off a play from Conner Glenn. 

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN LEADERS
The Marlins were led by  Greg Gaetano, Mark Sprague, and Joey Rayman with two goals each. Nathan Sheirburn contributed two assists on the day as well as seven ground balls. Thomas Potter recorded a team-high eight ground balls and three caused turnovers. Nathan Sheirburn won 13-of-15 faceoffs he took for the Marlins. Kyle Leeming (W: 2-0) picked up the win playing all 60 minutes between the pipes for the Marlins making seven saves on 12 shots faced.

METHODIST LEADERS
The Monarchs were led by Bryce Kephart with three goals and two assists on seven shots. Connor Glenn recorded the other two Monarch goals on four shots. Clay Stevenson (L: 1-2) made 18 saves on 27 shots on goal and gave up nine goals. 

UP NEXT
The Marlins return to action on Friday, February 28, when they host the Broncos of SUNY Delhi at Birdsong Field for their second consecutive home contest. The first faceoff is set for 5 PM at Birdsong Field in Virginia Beach, VA.