The Oglethorpe men's lacrosse team got its spring break trip started Monday afternoon in Irving, Texas, and got off to a good start against Franciscan on Crusader Field at the campus of the University of Dallas, leading 6-3 at the half and 8-4 early in the third quarter. However, the Barons came back in the second half and took a 15-10 victory, dropping the Stormy Petrels to 0-6 on the season.

The Petrels were up 7-3 and seemed to be rolling along early in the third. However, after an approximately 30-minute lightning delay early in the period, Franciscan came out of the locker room on fire. Down 8-4 with 9:35 left in the quarter, they went on a run of six straight goals to take a 10-8 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Freshman midfielder Nathaniel Gillespie scored at the top of the fourth quarter to bring the Petrels back to within a goal, 10-9, with 13:31 remaining. The Barons responded with three straight tallies, though, building a 13-9 lead with 10:12 remaining. Junior attackman Andrew Houghton answered with another goal to make it 13-10 with 8:43 left. However, Franciscan followed with back-to-back goals to put the game away. 

The Petrels came out of the gate very well in the first half. They fell behind 2-0 in the first quarter, but answered back with goals from Gillespie and Houghton to tie the score at 2-2 at the end of the period. In the second quarter, Oglethorpe scored four of the five goals in the period. They got two goals from Gillespie and two from sophomore attackman John Hood to build a 6-3 advantage at the halftime break.

Gillespie finished the game with five goals for the Petrels, while Houghton and Hood both scored two apiece. Freshman defenseman Andrew Kwapil had an excellent game, scooping 12 ground balls on the afternoon, while Gillespie picked up five of them and caused a pair of turnovers. Freshman midfielders Tyler Stridiron and Thomas O'Berry picked up an assist apiece, while Gillespie and Hood also each collected an assist. Freshman goalie Lane Edwards finished with 14 saves.

For the game, the Petrels were successful on 20 of 28 clear attempts and scooped 35 ground balls while forcing 19 Franciscan turnovers. However, they were 12 for 28 on faceoffs, were outshot 56-38, and committed 30 turnovers of their own.

"We came out with a game plan and it worked very well in the first half," said Oglethorpe head coach Nathan Young. "However, a different team came out of the locker room after the weather delay. We played uncharacteristically of our team in the second half, and it's a shame. We come right back tomorrow, though, so I look for our guys to put it together for the next game against Dallas."

The Petrels will take Dallas on the same field Tuesday at 2 p.m. Eastern. After that, they'll take Wednesday off before returning to Crusader Field in Irving to go against Wabash, rounding out their spring break.