BOISE, Idaho – The No. 11 Westminster men's lacrosse team started the new season with a 13-8 win over Oregon on Saturday afternoon in a neutral site game hosted by Boise State.
 
"It was a hard fought game," Westminster head coach Mason Goodhand said of the win. "Our offense took a little while to get going and their goalie was really hot in the first quarter."
 
Westminster (1-0) got two goals from Elias Fairman in the first quarter to give them a 2-1 lead after the first 15 minutes. Things opened up for the Griffins in the second period as they put away five shots to lead 7-3 at intermission. Holland scored twice in the quarter and Thomas Sarjeant tallied one goal and three assists in the first half.
 
After Oregon (0-4) scored the first goal of the third quarter, the Griffins used goals from Fairman and Troy Vance to push the lead to 9-4. Fairman added his fourth and then Kyle Postler scored to close the third quarter with the Griffins leading, 11-5. Eric Crosby and Sarjeant scored in the final frame as Westminster claimed the win.
 
"We started to win the ground ball war in the second quarter and that gave us an edge," Goodhand added about his team's effort.
 
Sarjeant finished his first career game with two goals and four assists to lead the team with six points. Fairman added an assists to his four goals for five points. Postler had four points and Holland finished with three.
 
All three Griffin goalies saw time in the game with Erik Gronseth making six saves while playing the first three quarters. Conner McFarlane and Josh Nett made two stops apiece in the fourth frame.
 
Jake Berard won 6-of-12 faceoffs and picked up a team-best seven ground balls. Ryan Coffelt won four faceoffs and had four ground balls.
 
The Griffins will return to action on Sunday at noon (MT) when they face Boise State.