Richmond 17, Jacksonville 8
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Making its first trip to the state of Florida, Richmond men’s lacrosse posted seven-straight goals and put together another offensive explosion in a 17-8 road win at Jacksonville in Southern Conference action Saturday at D.B. Milne Field. Richmond improves to 5-3 on the season, and 2-0 in the SoCon to remain atop the standings.
With the victory, Richmond surpasses last season’s regular-season wins total, while their second road win matches last season’s total in the second season of varsity lacrosse. It was the third time this season that the Spiders have scored 15 or more goals, more than in any game in their inaugural season in 2014.
Richmond scored in bunches in the contest, with a 3-0 run or better in every quarter. After trailing 1-0 in the early going, the Spiders reeled off three goals in the next seven minutes of the first quarter. Freshman Eric Haehl scored two-straight goals in s 40-second period in the waning stages to build the lead. The quarter closed with the Dolphins scoring twice to tie the game at three.
That’s when Richmond turned up the pressure and shutout JU 5-0 in the quarter as part of a 7-0 scoring run that extended into the early portion of the third quarter. J.P. Forester and Cory Palmer scored twice in the run to put the Spiders up 10-3 just a few minutes into the third quarter.
After two goals from Jacksonville, Richmond scored four more to extend the lead out to 14-5. The Spiders posted a 3-0 goal run in the fourth quarter for their last scoring.
Richmond sophomore goalie Benny Pugh played nearly the entire game and made nine saves for his fifth win of the season (5-3).
Palmer and redshirt senior Mickey Hofmeister both registered hat tricks, the first career three-goal game for Palmer, while it was Hofmeister’s second hat trick with UR, seventh of his career. Richmond is now 5-0 when two players score at least three goals in the same game.
The Spiders are also 6-1 against teams they play a second time. This was the first opponent Richmond has faced that it defeated in its first meeting.
Hofmeister and sophomore Mitch Goldberg both continued their scoring streaks. Hofmeister has registered a point in his last 22 straight games, going back to his time at VMI. He also has a goal in 14 consecutive games. Goldberg has a point in 17 straight and a goal in his last 12, dating back to last season.
The Spiders will make a quick turnaround and play Monday afternoon at 4 p.m. against first-year lacrosse program NJIT. Lacrosse contests at Richmond are free of charge.
Mercer 11, Furman 10 (OT)
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Mercer freshman Jackson Kleintz netted the game-winning goal to lift the men's lacrosse team to an 11-10 overtime victory against Furman at Paladin Stadium on Saturday night.
Mercer's second consecutive SoCon overtime win pushed the team to 2-5 (2-0 SoCon) while Furman fell to 2-6 (1-1 SoCon).
For the second time in an as many games, the Bears were forced to go to an extra period against a league opponent. The Bears nearly had the game wrapped up in regulation, as back-to-back goals by Kleintz and senior Justin Evans put the Bears up 10-9 with 36 seconds to play.
Furman won the ensuing faceoff and senior Kenny Meinsen registered the equalizing score with just 11 seconds to play. At the outset of overtime, Furman won the faceoff and went man-up due to a delay of game penalty on Mercer.
Mercer's defense blocked the only Furman shot during the extra-man opportunity and goalie Mike Nugent secured a ground ball to regain possession. On the other end, Mercer had three shots that went awry before Kleintz deposited his game-winner.
The Bears moved the ball around the perimeter and freshman Matt Quinn spotted Kleintz moving from behind the goal on the left side. Quinn found Kleintz with a skip pass and the Philadelphia native unleashed a right-handed shot that beat Furman goalie Reilly McDermott to cement the win.
Quinn finished the game with his first career hat trick, adding two assists to his three goals for a season-high five points. Junior Chris Baxa matched Kleintz with two goals while sophomore Ben LeSane, senior Tim Geran, Evans and freshman James Fromert all scored once.
Nugent made 10 saves en route to his second win of the season while Evans won 17-of-25 faceoffs. The Bears were a perfect 14-of-14 on clear attempts and held Furman to just 1-of-6 efficiency on extra-man opportunities.
Mercer continues SoCon play hosting Bellarmine on March 28. Game time at Five Star Stadium is slated for 1 p.m.
Bellarmine 17, VMI 7
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - If the goal of the Bellarmine University lacrosse team was to suck the suspense right out of Saturday's clash with Virginia Military Institute within the first few minutes, the Knights' execution could not have been better.
Bellarmine racked up three goals in a little over the first three minutes, and the Knights tore out to a 9-0 lead at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium as they rolled to a 17-7 victory in their inaugural Southern Conference home opener.
The win was much-needed for the Knights (2-4, 1-1 SoCon), who had lost three straight games including their league opener to Furman. The Keydets (0-9, 0-3) were also in dire need of a win, but the Knights took control and took away all their hope with a dominant first half that saw BU head into intermission with an insurmountable 11-1 advantage.
Bellarmine's 17 goals marked its highest-scoring effort under Head Coach Kevin Burns and most since the Knights posted a 17-7 win over Presbyterian in March of 2011. That same game also ranks as the Knights' highest margin of victory since Saturday's contest.
Less than one minute into the game, sophomore attack Jack Perkins took a pass from senior midfielder Ryan Scinta and rifled it inside the near post.
Bellarmine would never look back.
Sophomore attack Andrew Schoeneck spotted Perkins for a goal after finding senior midfielder Brogan Hill for a score. A mere 3:04 into the game, the Knights had already built a 3-0 lead.
And they didn't stop there in the first period. Senior midfielder Daniel Zamora, sophomore attack Graham Macko and junior defender Cole Killion all scored before the quarter ended. After junior midfielder Michael Plisco provided the helper to Killion, Bellarmine had stormed out to a 6-0 lead.
Things didn't get much better for VMI in the second period as the Knights continued to score at will. Freshman midfielder Austin Streeter bracketed a pair of goals around one by sophomore attack Tucker Ciessau as BU's advantage hiked to 9-0. The Keydets finally ended their scoring drought on a goal by Tom Nofi, but sophomore attack Austin Shanks answered and Schoeneck found the net with 13 seconds left as the Knights' lead swelled to 11-1 at the break.
The second half started out much like the first for Bellarmine. Shanks, junior attack Paul Garcia and senior midfielder Nate Blue all deposited shots into the net before VMI finally scored. Blue's goal made it 14-1 as the Knights cruised to their first-ever win in the Southern Conference.
Bellarmine freshman goalkeeper Drew Goethals and the Knights' defense did their part to ensure a quick start. Goethals, who played the opening half while senior Hayden Miller played the second, corralled four of his five saves in a first period that saw BU shut out VMI. The Keydets attempted 15 shots before the break, sinking just the one. The Knights, on the other hand, unloaded with exceptional efficiency, connecting on 11 of their 14 opportunities in the first half and 17 of 30 for the game.
A heap of players got into the scoring act for Bellarmine. Macko, Ciessau, Streeter, Hill, Perkins and Shanks all scored two goals apiece, while Garcia, Schoeneck, Blue, Zamora and Killion added one apiece. Schoeneck and junior midfielder Taylor Stuart led BU with two assists apiece.
Senior defender Colin Hart collected a game-high five ground balls for Bellarmine. Freshman Connor Harryman scooped up four ground balls and won 8-of-11 face-offs. Senior midfielder Grant Beczkalo was involved in 11 face-offs, winning six.
Mike DeBlasio and Nofi scored two goals apiece for VMI. The two for BU's Shanks give him a team-best 16 this season. Perkins and Ciessau have now both registered nine.
Bellarmine plays at 1 p.m. (ET) next Saturday at Southern Conference foe Mercer.
High Point 10, Air Force 9
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University men's lacrosse team never trailed, but had to hold off Air Force late for a 10-9 win on beautiful Saturday afternoon in Vert Stadium.
The Panthers (4-5) got five assists and a goal from sophomore Michael LeClair and four goals from freshman Connor Robinson to build a 10-7 lead. However, the Falcons (4-5) fought back to within one and had two chances to tie late, but HPU and its freshman goalie Zach Tuell held on for the victory.
Tuell became just the third player to start in goal for the HPU program and the second to be credited with a win. The Gainesville, Va. native, who learned he would start on Friday, made nine saves while picking up two ground balls and causing two turnovers.
Offensively, LeClair and Robinson led the Panthers. LeClair set a new career high with five assists to go along with his 15th goal of the season. Meanwhile, Robinson scored a career-high four goals. Freshman Tyler Vogrig scored the first goal of his career and junior Dan Lomas notched his 21st of the season as Canadians accounted for six of the team's 10 goals on the day.
Junior Tyler Cook registered two goals and sophomore Nick Basile added his second goal of the year to round out the goal scoring. Freshmen T Moyer and Jason Ashwood got assists while Basile registered an assist to produce his first career multi-point game.
Jamie Piluso starred at the face-off 'X' to help HPU win the possession battle. The junior went 15-of-23 (.652) and had a game-high eight ground balls. Junior Adam Seal played well from his face-off wing spot to collect five ground balls.
Junior Zack Price had three caused turnovers and senior Pat Farrell caused two to help their freshman goalkeeper in his first start.
The Purple & White won the ground ball battle by a +14 margin (32-18) and took eight more shots (36-28). Air Force's goalies combined for 14 saves, but it was not enough to get the win.
Cook opened the scoring at the 10:52 mark off of LeClair's first assist. LeClair added another assist on Vogrig's goal to make it 2-0 with 9:32 left in the first quarter. The Falcons answered with a goal from Nick Hruby, but trailed 3-1 at the end of the first stanza after Cook's second goal.
Air Force opened the scoring in the second quarter to pull within one before Robinson and Basile scored to send the Panthers to the locker room with a 5-2 advantage.
Keith Dreyer cut the Falcons' deficit to two at 5-3 with 12:32 to play in the third frame. LeClair, then, responded with a goal off an assist from Ashwood (6-3, 8:00). However, Air Force bounced back with back-to-back goals to make it a 6-5 game with four minutes left in the quarter. But the Purple & White jumped right back up by three on two goals by Robinson (2:26 and 1:42).
Austin Smith got a goal at the end of the third quarter to keep the Falcons within striking distance as the game headed to the final stanza at 8-6.
Robinson opened the fourth quarter with his third goal in four minutes of action to give HPU a 9-6 advantage. But once again Air Force came right back with a goal from Hruby to cut in back to two (9-7, 11:08).
Lomas broke through for a goal with 8:44 to play to give the Panthers' their 10th goal of the day. The Falcons wouldn't go away and got consecutive goals from Barrett Anigan and Christopher Allen to make it 10-9 with 4:44 to play.
Piluso came up big and won the face-off, but after Lomas' shot to put the game away was stopped Air Force had a chance to tie. The Panthers defensive earned a stop, but the squad couldn't run out the clock and gave the Falcons' one more chance to knot the score.
The Falcons got one final shot from Chris Walsch but it sailed wide and the Panthers poured on to the field to celebrate the victory.
The Purple & White will be back inside Vert Stadium to play Furman on March 28 in its second Southern Conference game of the season.