HANOVER, Ind. – The Westminster College men's lacrosse team lost, 14-13, in triple overtime, at non-conference opponent Hanover College on Wednesday.
 
Hanover (6-3) started the scoring with three goals in the first six minutes with the third coming at the 9:06 mark. Westminster (3-4) responded with a three-goal run of its own, with goals from junior Adrian Culp (Gaithersburg, MD / Quince Orchard) (6:22), sophomore Shane Fisher (Palm Harbor, FL / East Lake) (3:28), and senior Ryan Shorts (Westlake Village, CA / Oak Park). The Panthers added another goal (1:05) to take a 4-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, the Titans went on another three-goal run to take a 6-4 lead. Culp started the scoring with his third goal of the game (13:00), followed by goals from junior Chris Slater (Plum, PA / Central Catholic) and junior Dante Serra (Center Valley, PA / Southern Lehigh) (9:17). The Panthers added two more goals to tie the game, 6-6, with 7:58 remaining in the half. The Titans ended the half with four goals, one by Slater (7:26), two by Shorts (5:45 and 5:00), and one by junior Ryan Stiemly (Edgewood, MD / Edgewood) (2:26), and led 10-6 at intermission.
 
In the third quarter, there was little scoring with an early goal by Hanover (12:50) and Westminster (10:25) to make the score 11-7.
 
The Titans had their largest lead of five goals twice in the fourth quarter, with the last one courtesy of Shorts with 12 minutes left.
 
The Panthers rallied to score five unanswered goals to end the fourth, with the last one coming with just 0:04 left in regulation, to send the game into overtime tied 13-13.
 
In extra minutes, the first two four-minute overtime periods were scoreless. In the third overtime, the Panthers struck quickly to give Hanover the victory.
 
Shorts' four goals brings his team-high this season to 20. Culp's four goals gives him nine on the season and his career-high four assists gives him a team-high 10 assists on the season. Slater's three goals in the game also brings his season total to nine. Stiemly's goal was his first of the season.
 
Titan senior goalkeeper Carter Hall (Zeeland, MI / Zeeland West) totaled a season-high 19 saves in a complete-game effort. First-year Alexander Hays (Wexford, PA / North Allegheny) tied Hall with a team-high seven ground balls.
 
Westminster's next game will be its first Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup of the season – a meeting at home against Saint Vincent on Saturday, March 30 at 5:30 p.m.


*Written by Kevin Hart '20