Limestone midfielder Randy Waugh (15) holds off a Lees-McRae defender during second quarter action on Thursday. Photo by LARRY HILLIARD The fourth-ranked Limestone men’s lacrosse team used a balanced scoring attack in route to a 17-1 victory over Lees-McRae in the Conference Carolinas opener for each on Thursday at “The Rock.”

Today’s victory moved the Saints to 4-1 overall including 4- 0 within the south region while the Bobcats fell to 3-1 in what was their first region action of the season.

The Saints got going quickly as freshman Riley Loewen tallied an unassisted goal at the 12:06 mark of the first quarter to give Limestone a 1-0 advantage. The Saints would then add five more goals over the final 5:47 of the first quarter and held a commanding 6-0 lead after the first period and 8-0 by halftime.

The game’s first goal for Loewen would be the first of four on the day for him as 11 different Saints scored goals.

In all, 15 of Limestone’s 17 goals came from underclassmen, including 7 by freshmen as Todd Kozak tallied a pair while Joshua Williams added one with an assist and Tor Reinholdt scored once. Sophomores Randy Waugh and Jackson Decker scored twice with Waugh adding two assists and fellow sophomore Tommy Bryant had both a goal and an assist.

Meanwhile, Sam Buppert and Brian Zwick, a pair of juniors, scored once each and while Buppert added a assist to his point total, Zwick scooped up five groundballs and was 7- for-8 in face-offs. Not to be outdone by the underclassmen seniors Sean Bennett, Teddy Prager and Mike Poerstel provided key contributions.

Bennett collected a game high nine groundballs and was 9-of-12 at the center “x” while Prager totaled five points on a goal and a game best four assists while Poerstel added a goal.

Limestone, on Thursday, also secured the men’s lacrosse program’s 200th win all-time with this season marking the 21st of competition for the Saints in men’s lacrosse.

The Saints now have an overall record of 200-84 having outscored the opposition 4,042 to 2,449. The previous 20 seasons have seen the Saints win two national titles (2000 and 2002), reach six title games (2000-’05) and have advanced to the national tournament each of the previous 10 seasons.

Sixty-three Saint players have earned All-America accolades along the way. Head Coach Mike Cerino has now guided the program to 120 wins in his 15 overall campaigns at the helm.