MONTEVALLO, Ala. | The University of Alabama in Huntsville men's lacrosse team picked up a big Peach Belt Conference win on Saturday, going on the road and knocking off defending champion Montevallo by a 14-13 score. The Chargers improve to 6-6 (2-0 PBC), while UM falls to 5-7 (0-2 PBC).
 
The win keeps UAH on pace at the top of the league standings with Flagler and Lander who are also both 2-0 on the year.
 
Zak Welsh was strong in goal for the Chargers, picking up his fifth win of the year while making a season-best 17 saves.
 
Reid Vender had a team-best four points as he scored three times and added an assist, and his final goal of the day which came in the fourth quarter proved to the be the difference-maker in the contest.
 
Matching his three-goal performance was Brody Phillips, while Jake Schramm added two goals and an assist to join Phillips with three points.
 
Jake LeVette scored twice in the game, while both Josh Campbell and Conor Young had a goal and an assist. The scoring was rounded out by Ian Arnt and Silas Herman who both had a goal on the day.
 
Herman and Brayden O'Neill both had a team-best four ground balls in the game, and Herman was 8-for-12 in face-offs which he shared with Hunter Coleman who was 9-for-18.
 
Montevallo grabbed an early advantage, scoring three times in less than a minute to grab a 3-0 lead at the 10:35 mark, but the guests would hold the Falcons to just one more goal in the quarter while scoring four of their own – two from Phillips – to tie the contest at 4-4 going into the second.
 
Vender would put the Chargers in front with his goal at the 11:17 mark of the second, but the Falcons scored four straight and five of the last six of the period to go into the halftime break leading 9-6.
 
The hosts then scored the first of the third to push their lead to four, but the Chargers reeled off four straight and would add another from Herman off a face-off with 2:38 to create what would be an 11-11 tie going into the final stanza.
 
Arnt then scored just over two minutes into the period to give UAH a lead, and Phillips would make it a two-goal advantage with his goal at the 9:10 mark that created a 13-11 lead for the Blue and White. The Falcons would pull back within one before Vender scored a crucial tally with 5:29 left, and UAH would only allow one more goal in the final minute of play to secure the 14-13 victory.
 
Montevallo outshot UAH by a slim 48-45 margin and also enjoyed a 30-26 edge in shots on goal, and the Falcons picked up 44 ground balls to UAH's 38. The Chargers finished the game 22-for-24 in clears, while UM was 23-for-24.
 
UAH will return to action on Saturday when the Chargers host Young Harris. That contest at Charger Park is slated for a 1 p.m. start.