MONTEVALLO, AL – The Emmanuel Men's Lacrosse team opened up their 2025 season with a road test against the University of Montevallo. The Falcons got out to an early lead and controlled the pace of the game to earn a 24-15 victory. With the loss, the Lions fall to 0-1 on the season.
 
The Falcons got off to a quick start scoring three consecutive goals to go up 3-0 with 8:06 to play in the first period. The Lions responded well with a goal by Griffin Gibson-Thomas at 6:48 to make it 3-1. Tanner Park found the net with 5:30 to play in the period, assisted by Jared Weiss to cut the Falcons lead to 3-2. Luke Hildebrandt tied things up at 3-3 with 4:38 to go, assisted by Ethan Hildebrandt. The Falcons would close out the period on a 4-0 scoring run to take a 7-3 lead into the break. 
 
Joshua Fodchuk got the scoring started for the Lions in the second period with a goal at 13:52, assisted by Luke Hildebrandt to make it 7-4, Falcons. The Falcons got the goal back at 13:16 to make it 8-4, but the Lions responded well with a goal by Ryland Laturell with 12:40 to play in the period, assisted by Gibson-Thomas to make it 8-5. The Falcons scored the next two goals to push their lead to 10-5 with 11:05 to play in the period. Luke Hildebrandt found the net for his second goal of the afternoon at 10:11 to make it 10-6, but the Falcons answered back with a goal to go up11-6. With 7:13 to play in the period, Fodchuk scored his second of the day to cut Montevallo's lead to 11-7, but the Falcons quickly responded to go up 12-7. Luke Hildebrandt's third goal of the day with 3:06 to play in the period made it 12-8, but the Falcons got the goal back to make it 13-8. With 18 seconds to play in the period, Hildebrandt scored his fourth goal of the afternoon to cut the Falcon's lead to 13-9. 
 
The third period was a defensive battle, with both teams making key saves. The Falcons got the scoring started, going on a 4-0 run to make it 17-9 with 10:23 to play in the period. Jared Weiss got the Lions on the board with a goal at the 7:18 mark to make it 17-10. With 1:50 to pay in the period, Griffin-Thomas scored his second of the day to cut the Falcon's lead to 17-11 to close out the period. 
 
In the fourth, the Falcons scored the first two goals of the period to make the score, 19-11. With 12:08 to play, Kaden Flett got in on the scoring action to make it 19-12. Montevallo got the goal back to take a 20-12 lead, but the Lions answered back with a goal by Fodchuk, assisted by Luke Hildebrandt to make it 20-13. Laturell scored with 10:11 to play to cut the lead to 20-14, but the Falcons scored the next four to make it 24-14. Fodchuk found the net with 3:25 to play, assisted by Weiss to make the final score 24-15. 
 
The Lions were led by Luke Hildebrandt and Joshua Fodchuk who each had four goals on the afternoon. Griffin Gibson-Thomas and Ryland Laturell each contributed two goals. Jared Weiss and Luke Hildebrandt led the team with 2 assists a piece.
 
Next up, the Lions will travel to Greenwood, SC to take on Lander University on Wednesday at 6PM. For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.