By Luke Christiansen

BUENA VISTA, Va.—Despite a strong defensive effort, the Southern Virginia University men's lacrosse team fell to visiting Bridgewater College by a 17-4 score Wednesday evening at The Fields in Buena Vista, Va.

The Knights (0-5) played a competitive first quarter, trailing 4-0 after 15 minutes, but the Eagles (2-1) added five goals in the second quarter to increase their advantage to 9-0 by the half.

The Eagles added eight goals in the second half, while the Knights added four goals before the final whistle. Bridgewater outshot the Knights by a 62-32 ratio and won the ground ball battle, 34-27. The Eagles also earned 19 of 25 faceoffs.

Nash Wilkey continued his strong freshman campaign for Southern Virginia as he scored two goals, bringing his team-leading season total to seven goals.

Ciaran Giroux and Garrett Maw registered a goal apiece for the Knights with Ben Tillotson distributing an assist. Giroux scored his first career goal on a full field clear.

The Eagles' Chris Voorhees registered a game-high six goals for Bridgewater while Thomas Maher scored three goals. Rob Simmons and Kameron Reppe both netted two goals.

Newcomer Tyler Cox started at goalie for the Knights, putting in his most impressive showing of the season by logging 14 saves during the game.

The Knights return to action Saturday as they head to Randolph College. Faceoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium in Lynchburg, Va.