Richmond 15, Rutgers 7
RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond men’s lacrosse set offensive records and won back-to-back regular-season games for the first time in school history after a 15-7 home win over Rutgers Saturday at Robins Stadium. Richmond is off to a 2-0 start, handing the Scarlet Knights their first loss of the season to sit at 1-1.
The 15 goals are the most ever scored in a game by the Spiders in their 19-game history, and the five goals scored by sophomore midfielder Mitch Goldberg are also a single-game program record.
The Spiders are also now 4-0 in rematch games, after losing the first meeting against all four opponents.
The Scarlet Knights got on the board first with a goal less than two minutes in, but Goldberg scored twice during a Richmond 4-0 run to finish the quarter and start the second and the Spiders never trailed the rest of the way. Richmond never allowed Rutgers to score consecutive goals in the game.
The stats between the Scarlet Knights and Spiders settled to near even, save for the shots and goals columns. Rutgers won 17 of the 26 faceoffs, but sophomore goalie Benny Pugh saved 11 shots for his second victory of the season. He has all eight career wins for the Spiders.
The Richmond defense once again came up big, forcing 13 turnovers and holding Rutgers to an 0-for-5 day when it had a man-up advantage.
The Spiders offense played unselfishly, as 10 players amassed the 22 points in the game. Eight different Spiders scored a goal, led by Goldberg’s five and the third career hat trick for sophomore J.P. Forester, who tallied his three goals on eight shots.
Goldberg tied his own school record (shared by Brad Burnam) of six points in a game. He led the team with six hat tricks last season. Goldberg has scored a goal and a point in a career-best eight straight games.
The third multi-goal scorer for the Spiders was redshirt senior Mickey Hofmeister, who scored twice and assisted on another goal. He has a goal in eight consecutive games and at least a point in his last 16 career contests.
The Spiders’ only other time with consecutive victories was in the Atlantic Sun Tournament last season, as the fourth-seeded UR squad avenged earlier season losses to Mercer and High Point to earn the league’s berth to the NCAA Tournament. Richmond lost regular season games last year to both of its two opponents this season, the Scarlet Knights and the opening-game opponent, Saint Joseph’s.
Richmond’s all-time record in games played at Robins Stadium is now 4-4.
The Spiders will host undefeated Marquette next Sunday at noon. The Golden Eagles are 2-0 after one-goal wins at No. 18 Lehigh and at home over No. 17 Hofstra.
Bellarmine 13, Robert Morris 10
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - With weather conditions less than desirable, the Bellarmine University lacrosse team battled more than the Colonials of Robert Morris today, but the Knights came away with a 13-10 victory in Joe Walton Stadium.
Sophomore attack Austin Shanks had a big day for the Knights, scoring six goals, picking up an assist, four ground balls, and causing four turnovers. His six goals tie for the fourth most in a game by a Bellarmine player.
Tyler Nangle had a good day in the "X" for the Knights, giving Bellarmine offensive opportunities by winning 17 of 25 face-offs as Bellarmine outshot the Colonials 42-29 on the day. Defensively, freshman goalie Drew Goethals collected 12 saves.
Wind chill temperatures were in the teens and light snow covered the field at Robert Morris, which is located just outside of Pittsburgh, Pa. In fact, the game was moved up one hour to 10 a.m. to try to avoid inclement weather. The home team struck first, netting a goal almost five minutes into the contest. Shanks answered for the Knights off a pass from Jack Perkins a minute and a half later. After RMU scored to pull ahead again, Bellarmine notched back to back to take its first lead of the game at 3-2.
The Knights tallied the first goal in the second quarter as Tucker Ciessau beat RMU goalie Chase Rose to put BU in front 4-2. Bellarmine went on to extend its lead to three in the second period, but Robert Morris fought back to trim the cushion to one as the Knights took a 6-5 lead into halftime.
Neither team produced much offense in the third quarter, but Robert Morris was the more aggressive, outshooting Bellarmine 12-7. The extra shots translated to a 2-1 advantage on the scoreboard as Robert Morris came back to tie the game at 7-7 heading into the final period.
Bellarmine wasted little time establishing their dominance in the fourth. Shanks ended a 13-minute scoring drought for the Knights at the 13:20 mark of the fourth quarter. Bellarmine's Dylan Gatt added two more goals over the next two minutes to give the Knights a little breathing room with a 10-7 lead.
The Colonials never got closer than two goals the rest of the way, as Bellarmine outscored the home team 6-3 in the final stanza.
The Knights' man-down defense came up big, giving up just one goal on six Robert Morris man-up opportunities. Meanwhile, Bellarmine had just one man-up chance and did not convert.
Final statistics showed Bellarmine with five more ground balls than Robert Morris while turnovers finished even on the game with each team committing 14 on the day.
Both goalies worked the entire 60 minutes with Rose collecting two more saves than Goethals with 14, but the Bellarmine freshman picked up his first career win as the Knights improve to 1-1 on the season. Robert Morris falls to 0-2 on the year.
Bellarmine gets almost two weeks to prepare for its home opener—a Friday, Feb. 27 night game against Ohio State. That game is part of the "Great Midwest Lacrosse Weekend," in which Marquette and Detroit will meet before the Bellarmine-Ohio State game. All four teams will come back and play on Sunday with Ohio State and Marquette meeting at 1 p.m., followed by Bellarmine-Detroit at 3:30 p.m.
Saint Joseph's 12, High Point 11
PHILADELPHIA – The High Point University men's lacrosse team got six goals from junior Dan Lomas, but fell 12-11 in a heartbreaker to Saint Joseph's at Sweeney Field on Saturday.
The Panthers (1-3) responded to an early run by the Hawks (1-1) and built a 9-6 lead in the third quarter. However, SJU outscored HPU 6-2 over the final 20 minutes to pull out the win when Ryan McGee's goal with 2.6 seconds left.
Lomas led the offensive attack for the Purple & White. The Canadian tied his career and the program record posting six goals in the snow. Sophomore Michael LeClair added two goals and two assists.
Redshirt-senior Austin Geisler was solid in goal with 14 stops while six different Panthers registered a caused turnover.
Junior Matt Thistle dished out two assists and led the Purple & White with six ground balls. Freshman Connor Robinson had his first multi-goal game of his career tallying two goals. Redshirt-junior Brad James added a goal and freshman Jason Ashwood tallied his first career point with an assist.
Junior Jamie Piluso went 11-of-26 (42.3 percent) on face-offs and was credited with three ground balls. Junior Tyler Cook also registered three groundballs in the contest.
The game was mostly even across the board with the Hawk taking a +1 (26-25) margin in ground balls and the Panthers taking one more shot (35-34). The difference came in shots on goals where SJU had 26 while the HPU had 21.
St. Joseph's jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 2:30 minutes. But the Panthers bounced right back with goals from LeClair and Robinson to knot the score at 2-2 with 8:52 left in the first quarter. Moments later, Thistle found LeClair in transition for his second goal of the game to give the Purple & White a 3-2 lead with 6:48 on the clock.
Lomas made it a 4-0 run when he scored off of another assist by Thistle (4-2, 4:58). St. Joseph's stopped the run with a goal at the 3:30 mark to send the game to the second quarter with HPU clinging to a 4-3 advantage.
The Panthers regained their two-goal lead when Lomas posted his second score of the game to make it 5-3 with 10:54 left until the half. Lomas, then, notched his third goal in 10 minutes to extend HPU's lead to three goals (6-3, 9:55).
However, the Hawks pulled back within two goals as Mike Rastivo scored with four minutes before the break (6-4, 4:10). SJU fought back within one by capitalizing on an HPU turnover with 2:07 left in the half. But Lomas posted his fourth goal of the afternoon at the 1:49 mark to send the Panthers to the locker room up 7-5.
SJU opened the scoring in the second half and made it 7-6 with 13:15 left in the third quarter. Both offenses slowed down and neither team scored for the next seven minutes before James found the net to give HPU an 8-6 with 5:30 on the clock. Lomas extended the lead to three goals (9-6, 5:05).
SJU stormed back tallying two goals within a minute to make it 9-8 with 2:55 left in the quarter. The Hawks pulled even with 11:30 to play when Kyle Bruun scored to make it 9-9.
Rastivo scored to give SJU the lead for the first time since nine-minute mark in the first quarter (10-9, 10:19). Robinson had the answer for HPU and tied the game just two minutes later (10-10, 8:29).
Kevin Forster put the Hawks back up with a goal at the 7:41 mark (11-10). But as he did all day, Lomas answered to even the score at 11-11 with 1:17 on the clock.
However, McGee scored with 2.6 seconds left to give the Hawks the lead. Piluso won the face-off and got off a last second heave from midfield but it was wide and SJU came away with a 12-11 victory.
The Panthers will be back in Vert Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 21 to host Sacred Heart at noon.
No. 16 Lehigh 14, Furman 11
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Down 11-10 in the fourth period, Lehigh used four-straight goals to rally past Furman, 14-11, on Saturday in Furman's home opener. The win moves Lehigh to 1-1 on the season, while the heartbreaking loss drops the Paladins to 0-2.
Senior Kenny Meinsen scored a career-high six goals to pace the Paladins, while freshman Jonah Moore and redshirt freshman Robbie Betchley each added two. Meinsen turned in the first assists of his career to lead the Paladins with seven points. Freshman Reilly McDermott added 12 saves for Furman in his first collegiate start, while Clay Adams also added a goal.
Dan Taylor led Lehigh with five goals and four assists, while Reid Weber added the team's second hat trick of the day, also tallying two assists. Goalie Matt Poillon recorded nine saves for the Mountain Hawks, while Casey Eidenshink picked up a team-high six ground balls.
Lehigh got in the scoring column early, scoring two quick goals in the first two minutes. The Paladins came roaring back, however, scoring three goals over the next five minutes to take a 3-2 lead over the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh then got a goal with 1:30 remaining to tie the game at 3 heading into the second period.
The Mountain Hawks regained the lead four minutes into the second period, before Kenny Meinsen finished his hat trick and died the game at four with 5:39 remaining in the first half. The Mountain Hawks then outscored the Paladins 4-1 over the remaining four minutes to take an 8-5 lead into half time.
Furman was able to cut the lead to two on Robbie Betchley's first career-goal, then to one on Kenny Meinsen's fourth goal of the day with 6:43 remaining in the third period. However, Lehigh used two-straight goals, including one with four seconds left in the third period, to push the lead back to three at 10-7, heading into the fourth period.
Thanks to an illegal equipment penalty on Lehigh, Furman scored two-straight man-up goals to cut the lead to two at 10-8 with 14:22 remaining in the game. The Paladins then used goals from Jonah Moore and Robbie Betchley to tie the game at 10 and take an 11-10 lead with 9:51 remaining. Lehigh would not be held down, however, scoring four goals in the final seven minutes to defeat the Paladins 14-11 on Saturday.
Furman is back in action on Saturday, February 21, as they face Canisius in the Frontier Airlines Face-Off Classic in Denver, Colo.
Mount Saint Mary's 11, VMI 8
LEXINGTON, Va. - In a back-and-forth game that featured four ties and five lead changes, the Virginia Military Institute lacrosse team fell 11-8 in its home opener Saturday afternoon against former conference foe Mount St. Mary’s University at Drill Field #2.
VMI (0-3) had a well-balanced scoring effort, with seven different Keydets potting goals. It was the first time since March 12, 2013 VMI had at least seven different goal scorers.
The Keydets got a pair of goals from senior attackman Mike DeBlasio, while Brad Biondello, Brad Nardella, Ben Huger, Wesley Sanders and Tyler Prasnicki all struck once. Biondello, DeBlasio and Nardella also had assists in the game.
Mount St. Mary’s (1-0) was paced by a hat trick from Mike Moynihan as Clayton Wainer and Mike Pascali struck twice each. Spencer Smith, Bubba Johnson, Ryan Lamon and Evan Gormley all tallied one goal. Smith had two assists while Wainer and Brent Tsang had one helper apiece.
Evan Windisch played all 60 minutes of the game for the Keydets, his first time doing so this season after splitting time with rookie Joe Riccadonna in the first two contests. Windisch finished with six saves but suffered the loss. Opposite Windisch, Matt Vierhaller made 11 saves to earn his first win of the season.
VMI’s defense played its best game of the season, limiting an opponent to its fewest goals in the early goings of 2015. Prasnicki was a force once again in the defensive third, forcing six Mountaineer turnovers and bringing his season total to 13.
It was VMI’s best effort of the season at the faceoff X as the Keydets won 13 of the game’s 21 draws. Colby Lalicker took nine faces, winning six times while teammate Nate Kraemer was seven of 12. Prasnicki led VMI with eight groundballs and three other Keydets grabbed four.
Both teams scored twice on the extra man, with the Keydets going two-of-three in the second period, aided by a three-minute non-releasable illegal crosse penalty against Mount St. Mary’s Robert Jones to start the second period. Nardella and Huger scored for VMI in the extra man chances.
VMI struck first behind Bull’s third of the season with Nardella on the back end. But the Mountaineers, who won their 14th-straight over VMI, reeled off three unanswered goals for a 3-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Keydets answered back with three straight goals from three different sources to kick off the second quarter. Nardella and Huger scored on the extra man, followed by an even marker from Biondello to put VMI up 4-3. The Mount tacked on two more goals, but DeBlasio struck his first goal of the game with 4:25 to go in the half for a 5-5 score at the break.
Both teams combined for just three goals in the third as Mount St. Mary’s scored the first two, followed by Sanders’ first career goal, making it a one-score difference, 7-6, in favor of the Mountaineers.
The Mount scored twice midway through the fourth quarter in a stretch of two minutes. DeBlasio breathed life back into the Keydets chances with a marker at 5:28, cutting the Mount’s lead to 9-7, but two goals by the visitors in the final two minutes sealed VMI’s fate. Prasnicki notched his first goal since Feb. 16, 2013.
VMI returns to Drill Field #2 for a non-conference game on Feb. 21 against Saint Joseph’s University. Opening faceoff is set for 1 p.m. for the Saturday tilt.