The Oglethorpe men's lacrosse team got off to a solid start in their season opener against Point University Saturday afternoon at the Oglethorpe Track and Field. However, the visiting Skyhawks outscored the Stormy Petrels 6-2 in the third quarter, turning the game around en route to an 18-15 victory.

The Petrels got some good individual performances despite the defeat, with freshman midfielder Nathaniel Gillespie scoring six goals on eight shots, passing out two assists, scooping seven ground balls, and winning 16 of his 23 faceoff attempts. Sophomore midfielder Nick Ranta added a team-high four assists while scoring a pair of goals himself. Freshman goalie Lane Edwards made 14 saves on the afternoon.

Though the Skyhawks jumped out to an early 2-0 edge over the game's opening six minutes, the Petrels came back and asserted control of the game for most of the opening half of play. They got three goals in a row, two from Gillespie off assists from Ranta and one from freshman midfielder Thomas O'Berry, over the next 3-minute stretch toward the end of the first period to take a 3-2 lead. Point quickly tied the game, but a goal from junior attackman Andrew Houghton at the end of the quarter gave Oglethorpe their lead back, 4-3.

The Petrels continued to push the attack in the second quarter, getting a goal from freshman Tyler Stridiron off an assist from Houghton to begin the period, then garnering Ranta's first goal of the game to take their largest lead, 6-3, with 12:16 remaining in the half. Gillespie put the team back up by three with an unassisted marker just under five minutes into the period, but Point began a comeback after that. They scored three straight goals to tie it with 5:38 left, but Oglethorpe did take the lead into halftime with a Houghton goal, making it 8-7.

The Skyhawks controlled the third quarter, however, outscoring the Petrels 6-1 in the period after an opening goal from O'Berry. The home team found themselves down 13-10 at the end of the third. They were able to cut the Skyhawk lead to two a couple times, including on a man-up goal by Gillespie off an assist from Ranta. The team would get no closer, however, and the visitors secured the 3-goal win.

For the game, the Petrels scooped 41 ground balls to Point's 35 and won 20 of the 37 faceoff attempts. The team also cleared successfully on 18-of-28 attempts. The Petrels turned the ball over 31 times while forcing 21 turnovers, however, and committed seven penalties for a total of 4:30. 

"There was such a great crowd for Oglethorpe's first lacrosse game in two years," said Oglethorpe head coach Nathan Young. "The guys came out with great heart and determination. It is unfortunate that the game did not fall in our favor, but the players and the staff will have to refocus to get ready for our next game against Huntingdon. We've got a lot more work to do."

The Petrels will take on the Hawks Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Montgomery, Alabama. After that, they'll return home for their next four games, taking them through the month of February.