The Oglethorpe men's lacrosse team fell behind 9-0 after the first quarter of play against Birmingham-Southern Friday afternoon at the Oglethorpe Track and Field and, despite a valiant effort early in the second half, never could work their way fully back into the game in a 23-8 defeat to the Panthers. The loss dropped the Stormy Petrels to 0-14 on the season overall and 0-6 in SAA play.

The Petrels found themselves down 14-3 headed to the second half, but came out of halftime playing very well. They scored the first three goals of the third period, and four of the quarter's first six goals. All of those goals were tallied by sophomore attackman John Hood. His second goal was assisted by freshman middie Nathaniel Gillespie and it allowed Gillespie to break the school's single-season assist record with 10. The Petrels pulled to within 14-6 with 7:25 left in the third quarter and 16-7 with 1:24 left. However, the Panthers answered back with seven consecutive goals, putting the game away over the course of the fourth quarter. 

With 29 seconds remaining, Gillespie tallied his second goal of the game to tie the school's single-season record for goals (27) and break the record for points (37). 

After the 9-0 first quarter, the Petrels tallied three goals in the second. Gillespie scored the first, then freshman middie Tyler Stridiron added one with 8:42 remaining in the half, bringing the Petrels to within single digits, and junior attackman Andrew Houghton finished the half on a good note with a goal of his own off the first assist from Gillespie with 2:42 left in the period.

Hood finished with four goals on the afternoon, putting six of his seven shots on cage. Gillespie scored twice and assisted on two others for a total of four points. He put all three of his shots on target and scooped a team-high seven ground balls. Freshman goalie Lane Edwards made 17 saves on the afternoon, extending his single-season record to 214 saves. 

For the game, the Petrels were successful on 16-of-21 clear attempts to Birmingham-Southern's 15-for-16 and played the Panthers pretty evenly in the turnover battle, losing it 21-15. However, the Panthers outshot the Petrels 66-16, including 40-12 on goal. They also were successful on just 5-of-35 faceoffs and saw the Panthers scoop 62 ground balls to their 24. 

"Today's game was hard-fought and it was closer than the final score shows," said Oglethorpe head coach Nathan Young. "We cut their lead to 14-6 in middle of the third quarter and, as has been the case for a lot of this season, our lack of depth hurt us down the stretch. I am proud of the guys because they have never given up throughout this year and they know they will be the foundation to a great program for years-to-come."

The Petrels will round out their regular season on Sunday, when they welcome Millsaps to the Oglethorpe Track and Field. That game will get started at noon as part of the celebration to culminate Division III Week.