ADRIAN, Mich. -- A slow first-half start doomed the Allegheny College men's lacrosse team in a 20-4 non-conference defeat at Adrian College on Saturday afternoon.

Allegheny (2-5) was held off the scoreboard for the entire first half and didn't find the back of the net until the 10:02 mark of the third quarter. On the other hand, the Bulldogs (6-4) scored the first 15 goals to jump out to an insurmountable lead. Although Adrian still outscored the Gators in the second half, the margin was much closer, a mere two-goal difference at 6-4.

Without their leading scorer, JP Rakis (Kensington, Md./Walter Johnson), the Gators relied on three unusual sources to provide the offense in the second half. Defenseman-turned-attacker Jason Spindel (Medina, Ohio/University Prep) netted two goals in his second offensive appearance. Short-stick defensive midfielder Griffin Cates (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey), who made his first start with the offensive middies, added one goal, while faceoff specialist Anthony DeMarco (Olmsted Falls, Ohio/Olmsted Falls) logged his third tally of the season.

Inside the Box Score

• Allegheny scored four goals on 25 shots, while Adrian netted 20 on 60 shot attempts.
• In the second half, however, Adrian only had an 19-to-16 advantage in shots.
• The Bulldogs picked up more ground balls, 45-to-28, and held a slight advantage in faceoffs, 15-to-11.
• Allegheny scored the game's only man-up goal, which came off the stick of Cates at the end of the fourth quarter.
• Spindel scored half of Allegheny's four goals.
• CT Graniel (Scranton, Pa./Scranton Preparatory) dished out three assists.
• DeMarco scored one goal with two ground balls and 11 faceoff wins.
• Cates had one goal with a team-high five ground balls.
• Defenseman Liam Kruck (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin) collected three ground balls and had a one caused turnovers.
• Starting goalie Garin Stearns (Hudson, Ohio/Revere) had nine saves in the first half, while Isaac Michalek (Buffalo, N.Y./East Aurora) had four in the second half.
• Adrian received a game-high four goals from Michael Jonas (4g-3a) and Alex Winegar (4g-1a).

News and Notes

• Allegheny and Adrian met for only the second time, as the Bulldogs took a 2-0 advantage in the series.
• Spindel scored a career-high two goals and now has three goals in two starts at attack this season.
• Graniel dished out multiple assists for the fourth time this season.
• Michalek made his season debut in the second half, and the 30 minutes he played were the second-most in a game in his career.

Up Next
The Gators will look to rebound when they open Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) action on Wednesday, March 26, with a 7:00 p.m. showdown at Franciscan University.