Men's Lacrosse Wins Home Opener Over King's (Pa.), 9-8

SELINSGROVE, Pa. -- Susquehanna University's freshman attack Sean Ledwick (Weston, Conn./Weston) recorded a hat trick to help host Susquehanna defeat King's College (Pa.), 9-8, in a non-conference men's lacrosse game at Sassafras Fields on March 10.

Ledwick also picked up four ground balls in the game. He has scored all of his team-leading 10 goals this season in the last three games.

Susquehanna (3-1 overall) trailed King's (1-2 overall), 2-0, after the first 7 minutes, 32 seconds but cut the lead in half with 1:58 remaining in the first quarter on a goal by sophomore attack Tim Pastore (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood). Junior midfielder Henry Weismantel (Chatham, N.J./Chatham HS) dished out the assist on the goal.

King's increased its lead to 3-1 with 12:10 left in the second quarter before SU ran off five straight goals to end the first half.

Pastore, who had three goals in the game, netted a pass from sophomore attack Dustin Breakey (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) to make the score 3-2 with 10:11 remaining in the second period.

Junior defender Jimmy Warburton (Chatham, N.J./Chatham HS) scooped up one of his five ground balls and ran the length of the field to register his first goal of the season and bring the game to a 3-3 deadlock with 3:35 left in the half. Just 20 seconds later, Pastore notched an unassisted goal to give the Crusaders their first lead of the game. Pastore also picked up three ground balls in the game.

SU increased its lead to 5-3 with 1:56 to go before the break, as Breakey tallied a goal off a pass from sophomore midfielder Billy Spack (Arlington, Va./Yorktown). Less than a minute after that, Ledwick notched a man-up goal to give Susquehanna a 6-3 halftime lead. Sophomore attack Justin Caba (Yorkers, N.Y./Archbishop Stepinac) picked up an assist on that score.

The Monarchs scored the first goal of the second half with 5:11 to go in the third before Ledwick and Caba hooked up again on another man-up opportunity to bring the lead back out to three goals, 7-4.

Ledwick notched his third score of the game with 1:21 left in the third quarter to give Susquehanna an 8-4 advantage. Senior defender Rick Kondub (Stamford, Conn./King and Low-Heywood Thomas) assisted on the goal.

The Monarchs brought the game back to within three just 1:16 into the final period, 8-5, before Breakey registered his second goal with 9:32 to go, this one unassisted.

King's used a late three-goal run to tighten the game up at 9-8 with 1:05 left in the contest. The Monarchs won the ensuing faceoff, but SU regained possession and held the ball until nine seconds were left. King's used a last-second shot as its final chance to force overtime, but the ball sailed wide right.

Freshman attack Marcus Cheatham (Reisterstown, Md./Loyola HS) led the Crusaders and tied a game-high with seven ground balls, while junior midfielder Ryan Oakes (North Yarmouth, Maine/Cheverus) won a team-high nine faceoffs.

Sophomore Anthony Maiorella (Mountain Lakes, N.J./Mountain Lakes) played all 60 minutes in goal to pick up his first win of the season, making 10 saves.

The contest was evenly matched in almost all aspects, but SU capitalized on one more man-up advantage than the Monarchs.

Next Game: Saturday, March 13, at Gywnedd-Mercy (non-conference game), 1 p.m.