NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Birmingham-Southern 14, Piedmont 5
Records: Piedmont, 4-1; Birmingham-Southern, 4-0

DEMOREST, Ga. - The Piedmont men's lacrosse team dropped its home opener to a stout Birmingham-Southern team, 14-5, on Friday night in Demorest.

The Lions saw their potent offense shut down by a stout Panthers defense, unable to take advantage of extra-man opportunities in the team's first loss of the 2024 season.

After starting 4-0 for the first time in program history, the Lions let the Panthers take control of the game in the second and third quarters and were never able to recover.

BSC held Piedmont scoreless from the 13:27 mark of the second quarter until 8:20 left in the final quarter and built a sizable advantage with a strong offensive attack.

Sophomore Isaac Harrington scored a pair of goals for Piedmont, while Brady McGuire added two assists.

The Panthers won the shot count by a small margin at 28-24 in shots on target. However, BSC's goalie Nathan Pepe had an outstanding night, making 18 saves and allowing just three goals in the win.

Piedmont did cut its deficit to 4-2 on Harrington's man-up goal early in the second quarter. However, nine straight goals from the Panthers put the game away.

Up next, the Lions will be back in action next Saturday, March 2 against Sewanee on the road at 1 p.m.

TURNING POINT:
- The Panthers held the Lions for almost 35 minutes of game time and pulled away for the win.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
- To stay up to date on all information regarding Piedmont University Athletics, be sure to visit PiedmontLions.com and connect with the Green and Gold on social media. Follow the Lions on X: @PiedmontLions, Instagram: @PiedmontLions, and Facebook.