Belmont Abbey junior attacker Michael Brown scored five goals and assisted on four others as the Crusaders men's lacrosse team extended their winning streak to a pair with a 17-9 win over visiting Lees-McRae this afternoon. The Abbey is now 2-4 overall and 2-2 in Conference Carolinas, while the Bobcats slip to 1-5 overall and 0-1 in Conference Carolinas.

Brown scored five goals on seven shots, with three of the tallies coming in the second half. Four of his assists went to three different scorers, including a pair to Aaron Flood. Along with Brown,
Jedd Gardner scored three times, while Brian Watson, Miles Elliott and Flood each scored twice. Adam Basso, James Regan and Jon Fugitt all scored once. Flood finished with three assists, while Basso and Watson both finished with one each. Six of the Abbey's goals came in the man advantage, and scored one while having a man down.

Lees-McRae was led by Madison Thompson and Brandon Marks, who both had two goals. Kirk Rogers led the Bobcats with four assists, while Matt Markey had a pair to go along with a goal.

Defensively, Mike Pease led the Abbey with six ground balls, while Watson, Tristan Keas and Damon DeLuca both had three.

Mark Kelske made 16 saves in the net for the Abbey and now has 50 saves in his last three games. Adam Canoy made six saves in the net for the Bobcats.

The Abbey led 4-3 after the first period, but outscored the Bobcats 5-0 in the second period to
take a 9-3 lead at halftime. The Crusaders offense remained hot in the third period, as they outscored Lees-McRae 5-1 in the third period to claim a commanding 14-4 lead at the end of three.

Belmont Abbey is back in action Friday afternoon at 4:00 when it hosts Rollins College.