ROCHESTER, NY- A defensive battle resulted in an early exit from the Empire 8 Tournament for the Alfred University men's lacrosse team, as #2 Nazareth College won by a 13-8 score on Thursday from NLPA Field.

The Saxons were 20-of-21 in clear attempts and picked up 37 ground balls. Alfred ended the game 2-of-10 in extra man opportunities, while the Golden Flyers finished 2-of-4.

The Saxons were led by sophomore attack Paul Forte (Greece, NY/Greece Athena), who recorded two goals to go with one assist. Sophomore attack Drew Cartwright (Elmira, NY/Elmira) tallied two goals. Sophomore attack Justin Mosher (Hilton, NY/Hilton) ended with a team-high two assists along with one goal. First-year midfielder Josh Hauman (Webster, NY/Webster Shroeder), junior attack Adrian Romero (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia), and graduate defender Shane Weber (Hull, MA/Hull) each were responsible for one goal. Junior goalie Scott Kimiecik (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) finished with 16 saves across 29 shots on goal.

"It was a defensive battle for most of the game," Head Coach Jason Lockner said. "I thought we played well on both sides. Scott played phenomenal in goal today. It was a tight game, but Nazareth went on a run and we answered a little too late. I'm proud of the way we played today and glad we competed with sportsmanship."

The Golden Flyers placed early pressure on the Saxons to open the game, as a goal at the 1:59 mark forced Alfred into an early deficit. The Saxons retaliated with a pass from Forte to Cartwright to get on the board. Nazareth scored once more before the end of the first quarter.

A man-up goal for the Golden Flyers extended their lead by a 3-1 margin. Three consecutive goals from the Saxons permitted their first lead of the game. Nazareth answered with one more goal before halftime, as the score was 5-5 at the break.

The Golden Flyers found offensive rhythm to open the second half, reaching the back of the net at the 4:42 mark. Unassisted goals from Forte and Weber gave the Saxons their second lead of the game. Nazareth tied the game less than 30 seconds later, as they extended their eventual lead by scoring on three more occasions. Despite late goals from Cartwright and Romero, the Golden Flyers held off any potential comeback from Alfred.

"Our guys did a great job this season at remaining flexible," Lockner said. "This was a year full of unknowns with the ongoing pandemic. They handled so much adversity this semester and it makes me realize as a coach how lucky we are to work with this roster. I will miss our fifth-year players, but as a whole, this was a young team. Overall, it has been a great experience."