The Aquinas men's lacrosse team played at home on Saturday morning (Mar. 6) for the first time since the NAIA Invitational National Championship match on May 11, 2019, but the Saints dropped a tough 11-7 final to another top-10 opponent. Eighth-ranked AQ came up short against #9 Saint Ambrose after the Fighting Bees started strong and led 7-4 at halftime.

While it was the 2021 opener for AQ (0-1), Saint Ambrose improves to 4-1 with the victory. Having already played four games entering Saturday's 11:00 a.m. matchup, the Fighting Bees looked fresh by scoring the game's opening two goals and building a 4-1 lead.

Walker West scored the Saints' first goal and tacked on the team's second and third goals to make it a 5-3 score midway through the second quarter. Jon Jardis made it 6-4 with a goal with 4:14 remaining in the half, but SAU added a final tally to take the 7-4 edge to halftime.

The Fighting Bees scored the opening two goals of the second half to continue their 3-0 run and jump ahead by a 9-4 cushion. Nash West stopped the run with a goal early in the fourth quarter, but the teams traded goals the rest of the way, with Saint Ambrose closing out the road victory.

Shots were fairly even, as the Fighting Bees held a 43-37 advantage. SAU also led slightly in saves (15-12) and ground balls (32-30), while winning 15 of 22 faceoffs. Aquinas committed 15 turnovers to Saint Ambrose's 20 miscues.

Walker West finished with the three goals and an assist, while Nash West added a pair of tallies and an assist. Jardis and Mitch Haggart scored the other AQ goals.

Clayton Boerigter made 12 saves for the Saints. Blake Baker and Zachary Sweet were credited with assists.

The Saints are scheduled to head to Detroit on Saturday (Mar. 20) to face Michigan-Dearborn. The 2:00 p.m. contest is slated to be played at Detroit Country Day.