PAINESVILLE, Ohio - The 13th-ranked Mercyhurst University men's lacrosse team saw its four-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday night at the hands of third-ranked Lake Erie College, 9-7, in a pivotal Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) matchup. The Lakers dropped to 6-5 overall and 3-2 in conference play while the Stom improved to 10-1 overall and 4-1 against ECAC opponents.

The contest was back-and-forth all night but it was the Storm that got the last laugh after scoring the only two goals in the fourth quarter, snapping a 7-7 tie after three quarters of play. Neither team had a lead bigger than two goals over the course of the game.

Sophomore James Crowe gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead just 1:06 into the game with his 21st goal of the season. Sophomore John Plaskey had the assist. After the hosts scored the next two goals to take a 2-1 lead, senior Trevor Vargo scored back-to-back goals to close out the first period with the Lakers ahead, 3-2. The goals were numbers 18 and 19 on the season. Senior Brett Williams assisted on the first Vargo goal while sophomore Derek Richards earned the assist on the latter.

The teams exchanged goals early in the second with Mitchell Shafer scoring for Lake Erie at 11:11 and sophomore Keyan McQueen countering at 9:19. Williams earned his second assist of the night on McQueen's 16th tally of the season.

However, after McQueen scored, things went south for the Lakers as the Storm scored the next three goals to close out the first half with a 6-4 lead. The last of Lake Erie's three goals came with no time left on the clock.

Crowe cut the lead to one at 6-5 with his second of the game and 22nd of the season at 10:39 of the third. Then, after Reagan Harding gave Lake Erie its two-goal lead back, the Lakers countered with two unanswered goals to close out the third quarter. Crowe scored his third of the night, and 23rd of the season, at 2:15, and then junior Cory Becker got on the board with his 15th goal of the season with one second left on the clock to tie the game at 7-7.

But, Lake Erie got goals from Harding at 9:31 and Shafer at 5:36 to close out the scoring.

Mercyhurst was outshot, 37-18, for the game and turned the ball over 22 times compared to Lake Erie's 13. The Lakers also lost in the ground ball department, 28-21. Mercyhurst did, however, win 15 of the 18 faceoffs with sophomore Benjamin Brooks going 15-for-17 in the faceoff circle.

Graduate student goalkeeper Michael Grace dropped to 6-5 on the season with 14 saves. Nicholas Simonetti and Tom Lipomi combined for six saves with Lipomi getting the win after entering to start the fourth quarter.

Mercyhurst will return home to Tullio Field on Sunday, April 19, when it hosts Alderson-Broaddus. Start time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.