Fredericksburg, Va. – Marymount University's men's lacrosse team fell 9-8 to Capital Athletic Conference rival Mary Washington on Wednesday afternoon in league play. The loss is the fifth of the season for the Saints by two goals or less.

Austin Griffie and Connor Kellogg led the Saints (2-8, 0-2 CAC) with two goals each while Chris Wascak, Drew Phillips, Matt Hershel and Fran Turella all added lone goals. Wascak also chipped in three assists, Phillips had two and Hershel and Tom Anderson both tallied one.

Jeff Cook paced MU with five ground balls while Phillips and Vince Lodato both had four.

In goal, Ross Fernandez collected eight saves in the loss.

A close first half was a back-and-forth affair that ended up deadlocked 3-3 going into halftime. Knotted 2-2 in the first quarter, both squads notched lone goals in the second.

Mary Washington (6-5, 2-2 CAC) broke the game open in the third by scoring four goals, including three in the final two minutes, to go ahead 7-4 with a final frame to play.

In the fourth, the Eagles posted the first goal to go up 8-4 before the Saints began their late rally. Kellogg and Phillips would score two minute apart to cut the deficit to just a pair but UMW responded with a goal at the 3:42 mark to lead 9-6.

Not giving up, Griffie responded with a goal out of an MU timeout before Wascak scored on the ensuing possession to pull within one with 2:40 to play. The Saints were unable to get a shot off during their final drive, however, as the Eagles closed out the game with a successful clear in the final 30 seconds.

Marymount returns to action on Saturday against third-ranked Stevenson at 4 p.m.