CHARLOTTE, N.C.  – Queens University of Charlotte, ranked 19^th nationally in men's lacrosse, faced No. 8 Belmont Abbey College falling 10-6 at home. The loss moves the Royals' record to 2-2 while the Crusaders remain undefeated at 5-0.  
 
Erick Fitz scored the first goal of today's game finding the back of the net at 11:28 to put the Royals in front, 1-0, but the Crusaders responded with back-to-back goals at 9:14 and 7:13 to take a 2-1 lead.  A Queens goal from Justin Metzger then followed to knot the game at 2-2 heading into the second quarter.
 
Belmont Abbey then took over the half in the second quarter scoring five unanswered goals. Sean Hanrahan scored twice in the period to lead the Crusaders into the second half with a 7-2 lead.
 
Queens' defense would return the favor in the third holding the Crusaders scoreless in the period. However, the Royals would only find the back of the net once in the 15 minutes of play cutting Belmont Abbey's lead to four, 7-3. Metzger would be the one to record the goal zipping the ball into the net at 13:38 for his second of the day to end Queen's drought on the offensive end.  
 
Just eight seconds into the fourth, the Royals' Justin Swick quickly cut the margin to three, 7-4, scoring a goal on a pass from faceoff specialist Drew Flack. However, a goal from Belmont Abbey's Jack Pigott at 10:53 would extend their lead back out to four, 8-4. The Crusaders' Adam Wiedemann then teamed up with Liam Osborne for a pair of goals in the final 30 seconds of play to increase Belmont Abbey's lead to six, 10-4, before the final horn sounded.
 
Queens edged the Crusaders in shots, 32-31, but they would only put 12 shots on goal compared to Belmont Abbey's 19 shots on frame. The Crusaders also won the battle for ground balls, 20-17. Both teams won 9-of-18 faceoffs.
 
Metzger finished with two goals to lead the Royals in the loss while Swick recorded two points with one goal and one assist. Eric Fitz also added a goal to the stat line while Flack recorded a point on his assist. Griffin Stechmiller totaled four ground balls to lead in the category while Cody Kicsak had a pair of caused turnovers. Goalkeeper Anthony Valenza accumulated nine saves.
 
Wiedemann led the Crusaders tonight with four goals while Hanrahan added two. Osborne completed play with three assists. Harley Whitham totaled eight saves in goal to record his fifth win of the year.
 
Queens will move on to face No. 11 Saint Leo University at a neutral site in Savannah, Ga., on Saturday, March 10. The Royals last faced the Lions during the 2012 season winning 13-9 at home. The game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.