St. Louis, Mo. –  Missouri Baptist University men's lacrosse secured a 17-15 victory over Columbia College on Wednesday evening at Spartan Field, led by a dominant five-goal performance from Matthew Lash.

Lash paced the Spartans with five goals, adding one assist and two ground balls. Caleb Tant, Joe Busselman, Jake Cordes, and Raymond Lingard each contributed three goals apiece in the win.

Tant also tallied two assists, while Lingard dominated the faceoff circle, winning 24 of his 27 attempts and scooping up a game-high 16 ground balls.

Ashton Scott anchored the Spartans defensively, making 18 saves on Columbia's 33 shots on goal.

Despite the loss, the Cougars outshot MBU in shots on goal (33-31), but the Spartans found success in ground balls, securing a 39-26 advantage.

MBU jumped out to a 3-0 lead, with Lingard netting two early goals and Lash adding another. The Spartans carried a 10-5 advantage into halftime following back-to-back goals from Lash. Though Columbia outscored MBU 4-3 in the second half, the Spartans held firm to claim their first home win of the season.

Up Next: MBU returns to action Saturday, hosting Midland University at 4 p.m. at Spartan Field.