Bethany knocked off by Westminster on Senior Day, 19-9

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

BETHANY, W.Va. (April 28) - The Bethany College men's lacrosse team had its rally come up short in a 19-9 Senior Day loss to Westminster in the final Ohio River Lacrosse Conference (ORLC) game at Bison Stadium Saturday afternoon.

THE MATCHUP

• Final: Westminster 19, Bethany 9 (Box Score)
• Records: Bethany 4-12, 1-9 ORLC | Westminster 6-8, 4-6 ORLC
• Location: Bison Stadium | Bethany, West Virginia

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Westminster scored first a minute into the match and the score remained 1-0 for the next nine minutes, before freshman Tristan Shaffer (Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax) scored off of a pass from classmate Hunter Jackson (Towson, Md./Archbishop Curley) to tie the game near the five-minute mark of the first quarter. 
• The Titans rolled off three-straight goals to take a 4-1 lead into the second quarter.
• Bethany scored two of the first three goals of the second quarter to draw within two, 5-3, with 11:13 until halftime. Shaffer and Jackson connected on a second goal, while junior Will Gatling (Baltimore, Md./Northwestern) scored the second goal off of a pass from senior Majied Bey (Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd).
• Westminster went on a run of 11-unanswered goals from the 11-minute mark of the second quarter to the seven-minute mark of the third quarter to establish a 16-3 advantage.
• Bethany responded with five-straight goals of its own, including a quartet of goals by Gatling and a man-up goal by junior Anthony Helias (Erie, Pa./McDowell), that made the score 16-8 with just under six minutes remaining in the game.
• Westminster managed to lock things down and out-scored Bethany 3-1 in the final six minutes of the game to hold on for the win.

MATCH NOTES

• Bethany senior Sean Rhodes (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) made 14 saves on 33 shots on goal in the loss. He finishes his career second all-time in school history with 664 career saves.
• Gatling led the team with five goals, Shaffer had two goals, and Bey had a team-high three assists.
• Senior Bryan Uth (Hedgesville, W.Va./Hedgesville) wrapped up his career with one assist. He leaves the program as the all-time leader in faceoffs won (509) and groundballs (342). He also ranks fifth all-time with 43 goals.
• Prior to the game the Bison honored seniors Uth, Rhodes, Bey, Shaka Conteh (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams), Christopher Isaacs (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon) and Caleb Staudenbaur (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston).

UP NEXT

• This is the final year of the ORLC and next year, in 2019, Bethany will begin play in the Presidents' Athletic Conference's (PAC) inaugural-season of men's lacrosse.