ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of Northwestern men's lacrosse team hosted Marian University (2-7 overall) in a mid-day contest Saturday at Reynolds Field. The Eagles, who battled hard the entire 60:00 minutes of play, fell short to the visiting Sabres by a final score of 11-8. With the loss, UNW drops to 2-4 on the season.

Northwestern got on the board first, as Sophomore Keller Stephens (Lino Lakes, Minn./Mounds View) found the back of the net to give the Eagles an early 1-0 lead. Marian then answered quickly, scoring three unanswered goals to hold a 3-1 advantage at the close of the first quarter.

Both teams had a strong offensive performance in the second period, netting three goals apiece to raise the score 6-4 at the halftime break, with the lead still held by MU.

Throughout a back and forth third frame, the Eagles and Sabres each tacked on another two goals, lifting the score 8-6 still in favor of Marian. With efforts that didn't quit, Northwestern sank two more goals before the end of regulation, but it wasn't enough as MU knocked in three to secure the 11-8 afternoon victory.

Stephens led the way with three goals on the contest, while also finishing with one grounder and one caused turnover. Freshman Chase Marlenee (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) also put together a solid game, netting two goals for the Eagles, while Freshman Christian Erickson (Buffalo, Minn./Delano), Senior Allen Hubert (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji), and Sophomore Noah Vander Kooi (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo) each tallied a goal apiece.

As a collective group, UNW concluded the game with a grand total of 24 shots, [12 SOG] 15 ground balls, and went 14-21 on clears.

The purple and gold will next battle North Central University on Thursday, March 29. The match is set to get underway at 7 p.m. at Reynolds Field. For more information on the men's lacrosse team, fans should visit unweagles.com.