Gaffney, SC – The Emmanuel College (1-2, 0-1) men's lacrosse team opened its 2015 Conference Carolinas schedule with a 5-20 road loss to the #1 nationally ranked Limestone Saints (3-0, 1-0) on Tuesday, February 17.

Junior attack Shawn Sagraves (Winter Haven, FL), junior midfielder Darian Richardson (Duluth, GA), and sophomore Austin Brundage (Leesburg, VA) all led the Lions with a goal and an assist each. Ryan Maciejewski picked up two goals and two assists for Limestone while Coltin Moseman picked up a hat trick and two assists to lead the Saints with 5 points.

The Saints marched away with a dominating lead in the first quarter by scoring 7 unanswered goals. EC responded in the second quarter with Sagraves putting the first Emmanuel point on the board at 9:21, but the Saints would take the quarter 4-2. Junior Alan Troutman (Evans, GA) recorded 8 saves in the first half, the most of any goalie in the game.

The Lions did not back down, but the third quarter was more Saints as they etched a 5-2 win in the third stanza. EC senior goalie Blake Duncan (New Westminster, BC) jumped in the pipes for most of the second half and turned away 5 goals in the third quarter to help the Lions' effort.

The fourth period saw the Lions put the first point on the board when Zach Cao (Lawrenceville, GA) connected with Brundage. Limestone would capitalize on a man-up advantage a minute later though, just one of the Saints five extra man goals on the day. The Lions struggled to capitalize on opportunities as they went 0-5 on man up situations, and won only 4 of 27 face-offs during the day.

The Lions get another shot to pick up their first Conference Carolinas win this Tuesday, February 24 as they host the North Greenville University Crusaders (0-1) at 7 pm.