GAFFNEY, S.C. – The No. 17 Queens Royals fell to South Atlantic Conference opponent Limestone 11-5 tonight on the road. The loss moves the Royals' records to 6-4 overall and 6-2 in conference.
 
Quinn Tallant did everything in his power to will the Royals to a win, but his four points would not be enough to topple the Saints. Tallant finished with a hat trick and an assist to lead the team offensively. Solo goals from Austin Leonard and Jacob Bowen would round out Queens' scoring.
 
The opening five minutes of the game saw quite a bit of back-and-forth action as the two teams went up and down the field looking to strike first. It was Tallant who broke the deadlock and put the Royals on the board first. Queens' defense was able to hold the Saints silent for most of the quarter denying its opponent many decent chances. Limestone finally cracked the code with six and a half minutes in the quarter and would do so again within a minute to take a 2-1 lead. Bowen managed to level the contest with 12 seconds to go just for the Saints to regain their lead five seconds later.
 
Queens could not get anything going in the second quarter as the Saints strung together three goals across six minutes to take a 6-2 lead. The Royals were able to stop the bleeding for the remainder of the half and Tallant was able to cut into the lead seconds before the break as Queens went into the intermission trailing, 6-3.
 
The Royals would not do themselves any favors as they came out of the dressing room and ran immediately into penalty trouble. Two goals early in the quarter put Queens down five and needing a spark. Unfortunately, Queens failed to score in the third period and the gap only widened. Limestone finished out the quarter outscoring the Royals 4-0 and extending their lead to 10-3.
 
The game was not out of sight at this point by any means as many miraculous comebacks by this team have happened before. However, it was not meant to be tonight as time was not on the Royals' side. Neither team scored in the first 10 minutes of the final frame, which only worsened Queens' chances. Leonard and Tallant would score a minute apart from each other but it would not be enough for the win as the Royals fell 11-5 on the road to the 20^th-ranked Saints.
 
Queens hit the net for a total of 14 times as the Saints found the target on 20 occasions. The Royals committed 18 turnovers while Limestone coughed up the ball 19 times. Queens did a nice job clearing the ball doing so 16-21 for a 76 percent success rate. The Saints cleared the ball 17-20 for an 85 percent success rate. The Royals scooped up 30 ground balls as Limestone grabbed 35 off the carpet. Additionally, Queens won 7-of-20 face-offs.
 
The Royals are back in action Saturday, April 10 as they host South Atlantic Conference opponent Anderson University for Senior Day. Their clash with the Trojans is set for a 4 p.m. start.