PITTSBURGH, Pa. – March 5, 2022 – The Chatham University men's lacrosse team almost pulled off the unthinkable Saturday afternoon on home soil. It trailed by as many as seven goals but went on to score seven of the final eight goals, falling just short of the visiting Messiah Falcons 14-13. The Cougars record dips to 1-3 overall.
 
It was a sluggish start for the Cougars, who fell behind 6-1 after the first period. The lone first quarter score came courtesy of graduate Patrick Brunner with an assist going to first-year Jacob Sin. Messiah went up 8-1 in the second, but the Cougars went on to score the final two goals of the half, with tallies by first-year Justin Cook and senior Andrew Mattingly and assists by junior Logan Brubaker IV and first-year Rei O'Brien, respectively. Chatham trailed 8-3 going into halftime.
 
In the third, both teams traded goals which prohibited the Cougars from getting any closer. Sin, Cook and senior Nicholas Guaglione all had third period goals. First-year Zen Smith also split time with senior Shane Gaglione in between the pipes, with both making three saves for the game.
 
Guaglione led the charge in the fourth quarter for Chatham, scoring three of the Cougars' seven goals. Chatham held Messiah scoreless through the final 9:14 of the game and got goals by O'Brien, senior Andrew Mattingly and two by graduate Adam Bleess. First-year Ethan Rinker also added an assist. After Bleess scored with 25 seconds remaining, an errant faceoff trundled out of play where Messiah ran out the clock and the game.
 
Chatham outscored Messiah 10-6 in the second half despite being outshot 38-31 for the game. Both teams fired 20 shots on net. The Cougars were fantastic in the face off department, winning 21 of the 30 chances, all 21 wins by junior Zach Mayan.
 
The Cougars head to Adrian, Michigan one week from today for a road non-conference affair with the Bulldogs at 2:00.