WHITTIER, Calif. – A second half scoring drought led to the Westminster men's lacrosse team suffering its first loss of the season on Saturday against Whittier College. Westminster only scored twice after halftime and fell 11-9.
 
"We played well for much of the game," Westminster head coach said. "However, we let a team back in the game after we had the upper hand. We are trying to become a highly competitive team and games like this will help us get there."
 
Whittier (1-0) jumper out to an early 2-0 lead not even 90 seconds into the action. The Griffins (2-1) got consecutive goals from Christian Pompoco to even the score. Kolton Atkinson scored late in the first quarter to even the game at 3-3 after one period.
 
Thomas Sarjeant and Josh Holland would each net a pair of goals in the second quarter to help the Griffins to a 7-5 lead at intermission. Holland would add his third goal of the game early in the third quarter before Whittier ran off five straight to lead 10-8 with 11:23 to play in the fourth quarter.
 
Westminster was able to trim the deficit to 10-9 with a Pace Cranney goal with 5:31 to play. They would get six shots off with three on goal in an attempt to pull even. None of those were successful and the Poets found the dagger with a strike with 33 seconds to play to secure the victory.
 
Philip Cannell was stellar in cage for the Griffins as he made 21 saves despite taking the loss. That total is tied for the sixth-most saves in a game in team history and the first time a Griffin has made 20 stops in a game since 2012.
 
"Phil had an excellent game and he made a bunch of saves on shots the defense should have contested," Goodhand added. "They are a young bunch and a loss like this will pay dividends before the season ends."
 
Whittier took 45 total shots in the game and they limited the Griffins to only 36. The Poets won the ground ball battle, 33-22, and forced 13 Westminster turnovers. The Griffins put 24 of their shots on goal and went 17 of 20 in clearing opportunities.
 
Holland and Pompoco led the Griffins with four points apiece. Nathan Wade led the team with three ground balls.
 
Jonathan Kassity led Whittier with four goals and Ian Leek added three assists.
 
The Griffins will return to action on Sunday when they face San Diego State in an exhibition game at Adventura Park in Henderson, Nev. The game will begin at 2:30 p.m. MT / 1:30 p.m. PT with live video available at WestminsterGriffins.com/live.