SALISBURY, Md. - The Methodist men's lacrosse team opened its 2017 season with a 21-2 loss at No. 1 Salisbury on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Monarchs (0-1) struggled to generate offense against the nation's top-ranked team and the defending NCAA Division III National Champions. Salisbury (1-0) outshot Methodist 65-7, including 37-5 in shots on goal. The Sea Gulls also forced 35 turnovers and won 20 of 25 face offs.
 
Salisbury scored seven goals in the first quarter and took a 15-0 lead into halftime. In the third quarter, the Sea Gulls tacked on four goals for a 19-0 lead and added the first two tallies of the fourth for a 21-0 lead. Jay Robinson got MU on the board off a feed from Tyson Haith with two minutes to play to make it 21-1 and Chris Lombardi scored with 10 seconds left off a feed from Robinson for the 21-2 final.
 
Clay Stevenson started in goal for the Monarchs and played the first 39:01, making 12 saves against 17 goals allowed. Jackson Bingham played 17:57 and made three saves with four goals allowed, while Liam Von Hoene saw the last 3:02 and made one save.
 
Colin Reymann started in the cage for Salisbury and picked up the win without allowing a goal in 30 minutes. Brandon Warren, Hayden Donnelly and Chandler Dabbs played the final 30 minutes and combined to make three saves with two goal allowed.
 
AJ Mejia led the Monarchs with three ground balls, and Robinson and Bryan Cooley Jr. each had two. Daniel Richards and Jacob Fitch each had one caused turnover.
 
Carson Kalama led the Sea Gulls with six points on four goals and a pair of assists. Brendan Bromwell and Josh Melton each had two goals and two assists for four points, and Nathan Blondino had a goal and three assists. Andrew Ternahan led the team with six ground balls, and Aaron Leeds had five caused turnovers. Duncan Campbell was 12 for 14 at the face off X.
 
The Monarchs are back in action on Wednesday when they take on Brevard in Fort Mill, S.C. at 7:00 pm.