Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/5/17
Arcadia celebrates the Bucks-Mont Hammer
The Arcadia University men’s lacrosse team (1-3) got into the win column for the first time this season after defeating host Delaware Valley University (1-2) in the 2017 edition of the Battle for the Bucks-Mont Hammer by a final count of 9-8.
The was just the second-ever meeting between the two teams in the Battle for the Bucks-Mont Hammer, and marks Arcadia’s first win in the challenge series. Delaware Valley won the inaugural meeting last season 11-9 at Arcadia.
This was a back-and-forth affair all game long. The Knights trailed 2-1 in the first quarter before sophomore Nick Ferraro scored off a feed from freshman Austin Williams to start a three-goal run that put Arcadia in front 4-2. Fellow freshman Ryan Mahon scored 1:29 into the second quarter off a pass from Williams and classmate Clo Muscara followed with a man-up goal 5:15 into the period.
The Knights led 5-3 at the half, but were held scoreless in the third quarter while P.J. Rafferty (Avon Grove) and Chris Coyle found the back of the net for the Aggies to tie the game at 5-5. Arcadia answered by scoring each of the first three goals in the fourth, a run that started with a man-up goal for Ferraro 12 seconds in and ended with a goal from senior Ryan O’Leary three and a half minutes later to put the Knights up 8-5. Muscara then scored what proved to be the game-winner with a man-advantage off a feed from freshman Tanner Pajakinas with 8:24 left in the game. The Knights also had a little luck on their side as an Aggies’ miscue resulted in a rare own goal during that run.
DelVal nearly came back to tie the game as Coyle scored each of the team’s three fourth quarter goals. His first made it 8-6 with 9:29 left and he scored each of the final two goals in the game for the 9-8 final, the last of which came with 4:05 remaining on the clock. The Aggies had a golden opportunity tie get the equalizer after going man-up with 1:42 left, but all three shots were off target with the extra attacker.
Sophomore Danny Lipkin picked up the win in goal for the Knights after recording 12 saves, moving his record to 1-3. Nic Brown had just six saves in the loss for the Aggies, dropping his record to 1-1.
Muscara scored three goals and assisted on another with picking up four groundballs for the Knights. Ferraro finished with two goals and two groundballs, while Williams finished with a game-high three assists. Freshman Conor Cunningham was 10 for 16 on faceoffs and also picked up four groundballs.
Coyle scored a game-high four goals after taking 15 of the Aggies 19 shots in the game. Rafferty finished with two goals and one assist, while Bryan Thompson was 8 of 19 on faceoffs with three groundballs. Danny Smith had game-high totals of seven groundballs and three caused turnovers.
Ursinus 17, Albright 10
The 16th-ranked Bears won the Battle of the Beasts, defeating the Lions. The Bears built a quick 5-0 lead and held on to claim another non-conference road victory and their second 3-0 start in three years.
Sophomore Peter DeSimone paced the Bears attack, scoring the team’s first two goals, and later added a third for a first-quarter hat trick. DeSimone found the net two more times to lead Ursinus with five scores. Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week Bobby McClure (Haverford High) finished with a career-best six points on three goals and three assists, and fellow rookie Reagan Ketchum (Manheim Township) added three goals and his first hat-trick for Ursinus, which defeated Albright for the second straight season.
Haverford 6, Randolph-Macon 5
Matching up in another defensive battle, the Fords (3-1) doubled up the Yellow Jackets (2-3) by a 4-2 score during the second half and got the game-winning goal from Stephen DeLeo with just six seconds remaining to cap a come-from-behind victory.
DeLeo was one of five goal scorers on the day for the Fords as Ben Frost was the only Ford to tally twice in the win. DeLeo, who also caused the turnover to give the Fords their final possession, set up the first goal of the game that was scored by Patrick Girard. Girard and DeLeo both finished their road trip with three point outings. Dylan Slack stopped 10 of Randolph Macon’s 15 shots on goal to help the Fords pick up their third straight win.
Dickinson 11, Cabrini 9
Senior Evan Downey and sophomore Timmy Brooks (Haverford School) scored three goals each for the Cavaliers (2-1).
Gwynedd Mercy 7, Ferrum 6
In a back and forth contest, Alfonso Manzo’s goal with 1:09 left in the game was the difference as Gwynedd Mercy notched its first win on the year.
Trailing 5-4 entering the fourth quarter, the Griffins (1-1) netted three scores in the stanza. Dominic Moscariello (Lansdale Catholic) added his second on the day at the 9:11 mark before assisting on Manzo’s eventual game winner. The Panthers would win the ensuing faceoff and set up for a final scoring chance, but Gwynedd goalie Sean Myers helped cement the score with a save in the final seconds.
Mary Washington 12, Widener 9
Sophomore goalkeeper Matt Horton (Emmaus) made a career-high 18 saves, but it wasn’t enough, as the Widener University men’s lacrosse team fell to Mary Washington. Chris Drake had four goals and an assist for Widenerr.
Moravian 9, Bryn Athyn 7
Sophomore attack James Carroll led the Hounds (1-0) with three goals while sophomore midfielder Alec Oriolo added two goals and two assists.
Rosemont 15, Purchase 7
The Ravens picked up their first win of the season as Ben Koszelak scored five goals and Anthony Bottoms (Roman Catholic) had four goals and five assists.
Division II
Tampa 11, Chestnut Hill 4
The first of two games in Florida, the Griffins received two goals apiece from junior attack Dylan Klusaritz (Parkland) and freshman midfielder Carson Rees. Klusaritz added an assist on one of Rees’ scores while recovering two ground balls.