ANDERSON, Indiana - March 11, 2025 – Hiram men's lacrosse earned their first victory of the season in a nail-biting, 11-10 win over Anderson University on Tuesday early evening at Macholtz Stadium. The road team erased a deficit as large as five goals by roaring back and scoring eight of the last 10 goals, including the game-winning goal – which happened to be the team's second man-down goal of the year – with just over one minute remaining in the fourth quarter by Aaron Gardner.

Ethan Mayer and Micky Morgan added three goals apiece to pace the Terriers' attack, while goalkeeper Aidan Griffin stood tall with 15 saves, helping Hiram secure a thrilling road win.

Hiram found itself in a back-and-forth affair, trading goals with Anderson throughout the first half. After falling behind 2-0 early, the Terriers answered with goals from Morgan and Mayer to bring things to an even score at 2-2 by the end of the first quarter. Gardner gave Hiram a 3-2 lead in the second quarter before Anderson responded with a four-goal run to take a 6-3 advantage into the half.

The Terriers came out strong in the second half, chipping away at the deficit behind goals from Bricen Jones, Mayer, and Trevor Nordstrom. Mayer's third goal of the game came late in the third quarter and brought Hiram within two goals, 8-6, entering the final frame. For Mayer, the three-goal game marked his third multi-goal performance of the 2025 campaign.

Nordstrom and Morgan each found the net early in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 9-9 after the team had previously trailed, 8-3. After a go-ahead goal from Anderson, Hiram responded with a man-up goal from Morgan to tie it again at 10-10.

The decisive moment came in the final minutes, when Gardner netted the game-winning goal while the Terriers were a man down, giving Hiram an 11-10 lead with just over a minute of game play.

The defense, led by Griffin's stellar goalkeeping and key stops from Gray Perry and Josh Fedorek, preserved the lead, sealing Hiram's first win of the season.

With his three-goal performance, Mayer continued his climb up the program's scoring leaderboard, while Morgan's hat trick marked a career-high for a single game.

Hiram will next return home to take on Heidelberg on Saturday at 1 p.m. from Henry Field in Hiram, OH.