Salem, Va. – Sophomore midfielder Gordy Long (Monkton, Md./St. Paul's School) notched his first career hat trick Sunday afternoon but the St. Mary's College of Maryland men's lacrosse team suffered a 12-6 setback in its season-opener at No. 2 Roanoke College.

Senior attackman John Dehm (Trumbull, Conn./Middlesex [Mass.]) put St. Mary's (0-1) on the board first with an unassisted goal just 44 seconds into the game.  Roanoke (1-0) then responded with three straight goals, including two in three seconds, to claim a 3-1 lead in the first period.

The Seahawks cut the lead to one at halftime, outscoring the hosts 2-1 in the second quarter.  Roanoke picked up the first goal of the second period before Long and first-year midfielder Will Lerch (Lothian, Md./Calverton School) each found the back of the net for a 4-3 halftime score.

Junior attackman Patrick Mull (Fallston, Md./Fallston) tied the game up at 4-4 all with an unassisted goal at 13:05 of the third stanza.  The Maroons quickly broke the draw with six unanswered scores to stake a 10-4 advantage after three periods of play.

Long tallied two goals in the fourth and Roanoke scored twice in the 11th minute for the 12-6 final.

Junior face-off specialist Albert Mitchell (Shrewsbury, Mass./Saint John's) went 8-for-20 at the X while Long paced the team with six ground balls and three caused turnovers.

The Seahawks received strong defensive efforts from junior captain Justin Harty (Medford Lakes, N.J./Camden Catholic) and sophomore Tripp Trainor (Severn, Md./Gilman School).  The duo combined for 11 ground balls and five caused turnovers.

Seahawk senior Stu Wheeler (Baltimore, Md./St. Paul's School) made 17 saves on 40 shots faced and contributed three loose ball pickups.

Roanoke outshot the Seahawks in the game, 40-35, while owning a 57-43 advantage in ground balls.

St. Mary's will be back in action on Saturday, February 25 against Dickinson College at the St. Paul's School in Brooklandville, Md.  The first face-off is set for 1:00 p.m.