CANTON, Ohio - The Malone University men's lacrosse team dropped to 0-2 with a 15-7 loss at the hands of Roberts Wesleyan University (1-0) in their season opener on Monday afternoon.
 
The game was off to a promising start for Malone with three goals in a row in the first quarter. Darek Smith put one by the goalie in the first minute of the game and John Mautz III did the same in minute number two of the game. Quincy Dumarce found Dominic Robbins for a man-up goal just over five minutes in to complete the scoring run.
 
The final eight minutes of the period were all Redhawks as they peppered the net. Roberts Wesleyan tied the game at three, but six first period saves from Andy Lopez (0-1) kept things from getting out of hand.
 
The Redhawks ended up netting six straight goals with three more in the second quarter. Mautz III tickled the twine with 1:13 left in the second quarter, the first goal in nearly 23 minutes. Roberts Wesleyan led 6-4 after one half of play and used a 15-8 difference in turnovers and a 24-8 advantage in ground balls to put themselves in front.
 
The Pioneers were shutout in the third quarter as the opponents ground the pace of play to a halt. The Redhawks scored three to extend their lead to 9-4 and then did more damage in the fourth quarter to pull away to a 15-7 win. Ramsey Burnard and Liam Sullivan added their names to the scoring column in the period.
 
Roberts Wesleyan outshot Malone by a total of 56-24. 35 of those attempts were on-goal, which forced Lopez to make a career-high 20 saves. The Pioneers had 26 turnovers, lost in ground balls 46-17 and were successful on only 9-of-25 face-offs. Mautz III and Smith had two goals and one assist each.
 
The Pioneers will begin Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play on Friday, February 20 at 6:00 P.M. at league newcomer Point Park University.