ROME -- In a game that saw the Hawks turn in one of their most balanced effort of the season – matching No. 19 Belmont Abbey stat for stat – Shorter came up just short, 15-9, on the season.

The Hawks opened the game with back to back goals to set the tone for the afternoon. Matt Kristiansen started things off on a pass from Jordan Coates with 12:35 to go in the quarter, and was followed two minutes later on a goal from Zachery Dirkse. The Crusaders answered minutes later for their first score of the day from Connor Sellars and was followed by Jason Hollister to tie the game at 2-2 with 19 seconds remaining, but the Hawks were there with the counter to take a 3-2 lead into the second period as Kristiansen found the back of the net on a pass from Dirkse.

The Crusaders opened the second period with three consecutive goals to take a 5-3 lead with 6:48 to play. Only to have Shorter cut the lead to on back-to-back goals from Kristiansen and Alex Malinowski moments later. Belmont Abbey then tallied two final goals in the period to take a 7-5 lead into halftime.

The Hawks came back from the break firing, opening the quarter on a 3-0 run to take the lead. Kristiansen led things off with a score 45 seconds into the period and Andrew King followed to tie the game a minute later, before Kristiansen gave Shorter the lead with his fifth goal of the day at with 12:18 on the clock. Adam Wiedemann then went back-to-back to regain the lead for Belmont Abbey with 7:44 to play in the third, and Callum Turner made it 10-8 heading into the final fifteen minutes.

In the final period, the Hawks opened the scoring, as Malinowski netted a pass from Tyler Kristiansen to make it a 10-9 game, but that was as close as Shorter would get as the Crusaders ended the game with five goals to earn the win 15-9.

The teams kept things close, stats wise, as Belmont Abbey held a slim advantage in shots 39-32, and 29-23 in shots on goal and 28-24 in ground balls. While, the Hawks led in face-off with 15-11.

Individually, Hawks' goalie, Garry Robinson, made 14 saves in the game. M. Kristiansen led the offensive effort with 5 goals, and Dirkse added two assists to go along with a goal. Joshua Skinner posted a team high 10 ground balls, and was 15-22 in face-offs.

Shorter will be back in action next Saturday, March 19, as they travel to Hartsville, S.C. to take on Coker College; game time is set for 8:00pm.