Gwynedd Valley, PA– The Highlanders went on the road to play the Gwynedd Mercy Griffins in a non-conference matchup, coming away with a 23-2 defeat.

Gwynedd Mercy (4-3) got the game rolling by winning the opening faceoff, not wasting a minute to get the scoring started in the first possession. Using that momentum to push and get another two 5 minutes into the 1st quarter. Cairn (0-4, 0-1 United East) were unable to find their footing, until a successful clearance six minutes in, using their first possession to get freshman attackman Brenden Adler (Dallas, TX Homeschool) the first shot off for the Highlanders. The remainder of the quarter was all Griffins as they got their lead up to 8 before the end of the 1st.

The second quarter started off a stalemate as both sides had lock down defense, taking 6 minutes before we saw the first goal of the quarter by the Griffins. Senior goalkeeper Daniel Lafferty (Clifton, VA / Trinity Christian) came up big for the Highlanders having three big saves in a single possession for the Griffins. Gwynedd Mercy found an opportunity and took it to make the score 11-0 heading into halftime.

The 3rd quarter started off with a momentum turning goal for the Highlanders by senior attackman Cole Heffler (Eldersburg, MD / Central Maryland Christian) after a caused turnover from sophomore midfielder Joshua Wong (Newtown, PA / Homeschool). The Highlanders would push for a second, with shots from Heffler and junior midfielder Luke Fowler (Landenberg, PA / Wilmington Christian), but were unable to find the net. The Griffins found themselves extending the lead with another goal, but Heffler responded within a minute with an unassisted goal to make the score 12-2. Gwynedd found a spark and went on a route to get six unanswered goals before the end of the 3rd quarter.

The fourth quarter started off hot for the Griffins, getting four goals in the opening 6 minutes, then getting their 5th to make the score 23-2. Cairn had enough, locking in their defense, senior LSM Deyshon Green (Hampton, VA / Phoebus HS)  came up with a strong defensive check to give Cairn a final chance to score with seconds left on the clock, but were unable to convert the chance.

Heffler marked his 10th and 11th goal of the season, playing only four games.

The Highlanders will continue their season with a non-conference matchup against St Joseph's (LI) on Wednesday at 4pm in Patchogue, NY.