CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Oregon State men’s lacrosse lost by a score of 10-8 on Saturday afternoon against visiting Sonoma State. The game got off to a promising start for Oregon State with an early goal, but Sonoma State quickly responded and controlled much of the first half.

The OSU defense was kept busy for much of the first half with Sonoma dominating possession and shots on goal. Head coach Chad Stelling gave credit to Sonoma State and their game plan.

“They were ready for us,” said Stelling after the defeat. “They had a good game plan and came out ready to go and they executed really nicely, especially in the first half.”

After the early goal for the Beavers, Sonoma built a sizable lead in the first half, which included four straight goals to end the first quarter. OSU was able to get a goal back to make it 4-2, but again Sonoma went on the attack and added two more goals to go into halftime with a 6-2 lead.

“We started out slow, we came out pretty lackadaisical and not as focused as we needed to be,” said senior midfielder Spencer Rotenberg who is out injured, but remains an important figure within the team.

At halftime, the Beavers made some adjustments both offensively and defensively. The coaching staff has been preaching ball security all season and knew that in order to mount a comeback protecting possession would be key in the second half.

“We made some halftime adjustments and we came out ready to go at the start of the third quarter and we got some momentum on our side,” said Stelling.

OSU was the dominant team in the third quarter, scoring four goals to cut the lead to 8-6. The Beavers added another goal right at the start of the final quarter and were right back in the game. However, the Seawolves remained calm and added two goals in the fourth quarter to seal the 10-8 win.

Some bright spots for Oregon State included the play of freshman attacker Kyle Baldes, who notched three goals and added an assist. The three goals give Baldes 11 on the year. J.R. Mclaughlin tallied four goals on seven shots and was a key part of the Beavers comeback in the third quarter.

The loss does not deter OSU from any of its goals for the season. Stelling was adamant after the game that his team can rebound and can still win their conference.

“We can still accomplish everything that we want to this year, from a conference championship standpoint to a national championship standpoint, all of that is still in play,” said Stelling. “We may drop in the rankings a little bit but, realistically, if we win our conference we are in.”

Oregon State travels to Montana next weekend and will look to bounce back with a road win against a conference opponent.

“Nothing comes easy out of conference or not, and we will move forward and look for a way to right the ship and be ready for Montana next week,” said Stelling.

The loss drops the Beavers to 5-2 on the season, but they were able to draw some positives from the loss.

“Today we were able to see some things about our rotations and where people are going to be fitting into the system,” said Rotenberg. “Moving forward, this is an eye opener, especially with how we are going to prepare. It’s up to the guys to come together as a team and make sure we stay on top of things.”

Oregon State next takes the field on the road against Montana on Saturday, March 12. Game time is set for 10:30 a.m.