GRANTHAM, Pa.  -  Coast Guard men's lacrosse picked up their fourth win in a row earlier today by besting Messiah College, 16-11. Both teams battled throughout a competitive game the entire afternoon before Coast Guard pulled away in the fourth quarter with a quartet of uninterrupted goals.

The Bears improve to 4-1, with the win marking the first time the program has won four straight since the 2022 season; Messiah's struggles continue their losing skid as they move to 1-4. The Falcons will look for a win in their next contest on March 12th, in which they'll host 3-3 St. Mary's College (Md.).

Coast Guard found themselves in an early hole after Messiah scored four uninterrupted through the first five minutes. Eric Key (Clarksville, Md.) got the Bears on the board at 7:31, with some help from Ryan Hunter (Bethesda, Md.), but the Falcons negated that goal with a score at 6:32. Now facing a 5-1 deficit, Coast Guard locked in and scored three straight goals to close out the quarter trailing 5-4.

The run wasn't done yet, as Hunter scored his second of the game off an assist from Patrick Smith (Leesburg, Va.) at 7:39 to tie it at five. He was followed by Max Silver (Jupiter, Fla.) at 6:47, assisted by Ezekiel Christian (Stonington, Conn.) to give the Bears their first lead of the game, and then Mason LaForte (Waterford, Conn.) extended it to 7-5 at 5:56 with help from Hunter. The Falcons regained the upper hand by halftime, though, by going on a three-goal run to take an 8-7 lead into the break.

Key struck again almost immediately once the third quarter started, scoring at 14:34 to tie it at eight. A goal for Messiah at 10:09 would put the hosts up by a point again, but Hunter tied it at nine with 7:10 remaining. Coast Guard followed that up with two more scores to take an 11-9 lead into the final quarter.

The Falcons stayed persistent to start the fourth, scoring at 13:22 to cut the Bears' lead down to one. Silver responded with his second of the game at 11:56, assisted by Hunter, but Messiah struck again at 9:26 to stay within tying range at 12-11. Smith acted less than a minute later, with 8:34 on the clock, to make it 13-11 before Nolan Grizzle (Severna Park) sent it to Key at 7:24 to give the latter a hat trick and make it 14-11.

Hunter gave his team further insurance at 5:19, scoring his fifth of the afternoon with help from Silver, and Grizzle would score the dagger at 3:16 to make it 16-11. Coast Guard shut down their hosts for the final couple of minutes to claim the win.

Neither team had a clear upper hand in most stats by the game's end. The Bears took 40 shots to their hosts' 39, while Messiah had 13 turnovers to their guests' 18. Coast Guard went 16-for-19 on clears and the Falcons went 13-for-16, but the Bears were better in two areas: ground balls and face-offs.

Coast Guard reigned in 42 grounders to Messiah's 30 and went 23-9 on face-offs, both of which were fueled by the outstanding play of Mason Tucker (Alpharetta, Ga.). The reigning NEWMAC FOGO of the Week won all 23 of those face-offs while picking up a game-high 13 ground balls.

An eight-point (5 goals, 3 assists) showing for Hunter paced the Bears and the game; the number was the most in a game by a Bear since Taylor Gustafson (class of 2023) had the same total against Grove City during the 2023 season. Key had five points (hat trick, 2 assists), four ground balls, and a caused turnover; and Christian, Smith, and Silver all had three points on two goals and an assist. Oliver Bolton (Darien, Conn.) was the top deterrent on defense with four caused turnovers, and Dustin Miller (Tyler, Tex.) picked up his third win with a season-high 11 saves.

Messiah's Chad Teresky (Salisbury, Mass.) had a great game in his own right, keeping up with Hunter by accounting for seven points (3 goals, 4 assists). Behind him was Owen Hammel (Dillsburg, Pa.) with four points (hat trick, assist) and Bobby Berg (San Diego, Calif.) had three points (hat trick). Falcons goalie Algarin Jourdain (Havre de Grace, Md.) had eight saves in the losing effort.

Bears men's lacrosse gets a week off before their next game on March 15th, in which they'll open their NEWMAC schedule by facing Salve Regina (5-1). The Seahakws fended off Coast Gaurd in last year's 12-10 win in Newport. Hunter had seven points (hat trick, 4 assists), Key had four (2 goals, 2 assists), and both Smith and Silver had three on two goals and an assist.