EASTON, Pa. - Freshman Peter Lehman posted a hat trick with an assist as the Lafayette men's lacrosse team pushed No. 19 Loyola to a one-goal game in the fourth quarter on Saturday afternoon at Fisher Stadium, falling by an 11-7 score in the second-to-last game of the 2021 campaign.

Lehman and classmate Carter Cecil registered multi-goal efforts behind a stellar performance at the faceoff X from freshman Aidan Kelly and sophomore James Turco. Kelly and Turco each won seven of their 11 opportunities as Lafayette edged out the battle at the X, 14-8, and the groundball effort overall, 36-33. 

The game was evenly played with never more than a four-goal margin between the sides. After splitting two goals apiece in the opening period, the visitors took control in the second with three of the four tallies to send it to halftime at 5-3. The Leopards dug an 8-4 hole at 7:07 in the third, but made their move into the final quarter, scoring three straight with two from Cecil, trailing by an 8-7 score with 13:11 remaining. Unfortunately, all three of the game's final scores went Loyola's way to close it out by an 11-7 final.

Junior Ryan Ness made eight saves between the pipes and was helped defensively by a team-high three caused turnovers from rookie Noah Mendoza. Senior co-captain Bryan Hess and sophomore co-captain Sean Rushton picked up five ground balls through the midfield and defensive half, respectively, and John Mathes and Evan Lotz were the other goal-scorers for the Maroon and White.

Next up for Lafayette is the finale on Saturday, hosting Navy at 2:30 p.m. The game can be seen nationally on CBS Sports Network and, prior the contest, the Leopards' Class of 2021 will be honored for their contributions to the program.