Canton, OH. -- Friday afternoon the Malone University Men's Lacrosse team welcomed the William Jewel Cardinals to King Field for the Pioneers home opener. 

Despite a near miraculous comeback, the Pioneers fell 14-15. 

THE ESSENTIALS

• Final Score: Malone University Pioneers 14 - William Jewell Cardinals 15
• Records: Malone (2-1, 0-0 G-MAC) William Jewell (1-1, 0-0 GLVC)
• Location: Canton, OH | King Field

THE GAME
The Pioneers started the game off on the wrong foot as they quickly fell behind 2-0. Zac Smagiasso found the net first for the Pioneers to cut the deficit to 1 midway through the first. Kenny Kaiser followed suit with his 1st goal of the season, knotting things up at 2 a piece. With time winding down, the Cardinals struck again to put a bow on the first quarter.

Down 3-2 to begin the second, Eli Ciotti rifled a shot past the keeper for his 100th career goal, tying the score at 3. The Cardinals quickly took control, scoring 5 unanswered goals. Ramsey Burnard stopped the bleeding with his 9th goal of the season. With the Pioneers down 8-4 at the half, Coach Michael Campbell looked to challenge his men in the huddle.

Talon Heath answered the call as he opened the second half with three quick goals to cut the deficit to 1.  While the Cardinals answered back with two more of their own, Ciotti and Heath each found the net yet again to set the game up for a nail biting finish with the Pioneers down 9-10 through 3. 

Luke Ory started the fourth off with a bang as he tied the game up at 10 a piece. However, the Cardinals quickly took over as they outscored the Pioneers 4-2 over the first 14 minutes of the frame. However, with just over a minute remaining and two Pioneers in the penalty box, all hope seemed lost. While attempting to run out the clock, the Cardinals rifled home their 15th goal on an empty net, releasing the penalized players and stopping the clock. Down 15-11 with time dwindling down, Kamden Kraft won the face-off and Talon Heath hit pay-dirt to cut the deficit to 3. The ensuing face-off was a prime case of deja-vu as Kraft won and Heath scored again. With the deficit down to 2 and only seconds remaining, Kraft won yet again and this time Eli Ciotti netted his third of the game. Now down just a goal, the Pioneers needed just one more chance to send this game to OT. Although the Cardinals won the face-off, they quickly turned the ball over and the Pioneers had one last shot. The Pioneers last second shot was blocked and the Cardinals escaped victorious by a final score of 14 - 15. 

DETAILS

• Six different Pioneers scored goals, led by 6 from Talon Heath. Eli Ciotti had 3, followed by Zac Smargiasso with 2. Kenny Kaiser, Ramsey Burnard, and Luke Ory each found the net to conclude the scoring. 
• 10 different Pioneers assisted on a goal 
• Brice Christmas led the team with 6 ground balls 

WHAT'S NEXT
Malone goes back on the road next Saturday, February 24th at Quincy University in Quincy, IL. 

FOLLOW THE PIONEERS
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