CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Queens men's lacrosse improved to 1-1 on the season, picking up their first Conference Carolinas win of the year with a 12-6 win over Lees-McRae (0-3, 0-2 CC) Saturday afternoon at the Queens Sports Complex.

The Royals (1-1, 1-0) jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first three minutes, with Matthew Michael (Easton, Pa., Easton) scoring the opening goal followed by Corey Geroy (Horseheads, N.Y., Horseheads) netting his first of four goals on the day. The Royals would extend their lead on a pair of man-advantage goals to go into the second quarter up 5-1.

Scoring the opening goals of the second quarter, the Royals appeared to be on their way to a route. But the Bobcats rallied back in the final minutes to cut it to 8-4 before Geroy tallied his third goal, with a man down, to end the half, leading 9-4.

The second half kicked off with a trifecta of Royals goals. Geroy's fourth goal of the game was sandwiched between a pair, as T.C. Whaley (Carlsbad, Calif., La Costa Canyon) and Alex Warehime (Millersville, Md., Old Mill ) each scored their fourth goals of the season.

Up 12-4, and the game out of reach, the Royals muddled the pace of the game and worked to run out the clock. The Bobcats would net a pair in the fourth en route to the 12-6 loss.

The Royals held the advantage in nearly every statistical category: outshooting the Bobcats 34-30; gathering 30 groundballs opposed the Bobcats' 21; and winning 13 of the 21 face-offs.

Queens returns to action Monday, March 2 when they travel to Belmont Abbey (1-1) for the Crusaders' conference opener. The game is slated for a 3:30pm start.