Salisbury opened the 2021 campaign as the unquestioned No. 1 team in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Men’s Top 20.
Lynchburg has now given plenty of reasons to question which team should be No. 1 on Monday.
Kyle Lewis, Riley Mitchell and Brett Rogers each scored twice as No. 13 Lynchburg came back to defeat Salisbury 10-8 Saturday afternoon at Shellenberger Field.
DOWN GOES NO. @LynchburgMLAX pulls off the 10-8 upset of top-ranked @SalisburyMLAX in an early-season DIII battle. pic.twitter.com/vWlKPnzBYv
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 6, 2021
The Hornets (3-0) were down 4-1 after Josh Melton assisted Cross Ferrara, but they began to chip away with goals from Quintin Ricci and Lewis. Brad Geik scored to put Salisbury up 5-3, but Lynchburg ripped off three straight goals — one each by Trammel Robinson, Lewis and Mitchell — to take a 6-5 lead.
Jack Dowd fed Jarrett Bromwell two minutes before the break to tie the score at 6.
After Brooks Poli assisted Rogers for a 7-6 Lynchburg lead just 1:18 into the second half, Pierre Armstrong connected with Griffin Moroney to tie the score at 7. But that would be the final time Salisbury was even with Lynchburg.
Tye Mitchell scored unassisted, then Robinson hooked up with Rogers for a 9-7 lead. Ferrara cut the deficit to one with 8:09 remaining, but Lewis fed Jack Speers to ice Lynchburg’s third win with 6:11 left.
Patrick Moore made 10 saves on 18 shots faced for Lynchburg, which ended a six-game losing streak against Salisbury dating back to 2015.