SALEM, Mass. -- The Mount Ida College men's lacrosse suffered their second setback in the last three games on Wednesday afternoon by a final score of 11-5 at the hands of the Vikings of Salem State University.

With the loss, Mount Ida drops to 1-2 (1-0 GNAC) while Salem State improves to 2-2 overall without playing a MASCAC game to date.

The Mustangs were led offensively by Joe Galante (Framingham, Mass.) and Lucas Stralka (E. Greenwich, R.I.) who each tallied two goals in the non-conference tilt while teammate Peter Hardy (Tyngsboro, Mass.) notched the only other tally of the day for Mount Ida.

After a low scoring first quarter that resulted in a 1-1 draw, the goal scoring picked up by both sides in the second quarter. Melaugh gave the Vikings the lead with just under 12 minutes to play as Alex Pearsons (Burlington, Mass.) found the cutting Melaugh for an easy score in front of the crease. Minutes later, the Mustangs retaliated as Galante evened the score at 2-2 with a hard shot from far out that beat Salem State goalie Dylan Svenson (Billerica, Mass.) high, stick side. However, the Vikings exploded for four unanswered goals that brought the score to 6-2 with fewer than three minutes to play in the half. During that stretch, Melaugh netted two goals while Zach Brown (Peabody, Mass.) and Bobby Bourgeois (Billerica, Mass.) each added a goal. Just before the end of the half, the Mustangs struck back as Stralka cut the deficit to 6-3.

In the third quarter, Mount Ida outscored the Vikings 2-1 to cut Salem State's lead to 7-5. In the fourth however, Svenson and the Vikings' defense didn't allow a single goal while the home team went on to add four more. During that run, Brown contributed two goals while Andy Rice (Weymouth, Mass.) and Pearson each tallied one goal as Salem State went on to win 11-5.

Svenson finished the game with four saves while Mount Ida goalie Cam Hayward (Derry, N.H.) stopped an impressive 16 shots. Brown ended the game with four points for the Vikings on three goals and one assist.

The Vikings travel to take on the Colonels of Curry College on March 21st at 1:00 p.m. while the Mustangs host Emmanuel College on March 21st. That game is reserved for a 1:00 p.m. start time.