Box Score
SELINSGROVE, Pa. – A defense could not have played much
better than that of the Susquehanna men's lacrosse team, as
the Crusaders held Gwynedd-Mercy without a goal for the final
30-plus minutes of action in a 9-2 SU victory on Saturday
afternoon.
Susquehanna opens its season 3-0 for the first time under
fourth-year head coach Stewart Moan.
The Crusaders used a late, fourth-quarter offensive surge that
included three goals in the final eight minutes to clinch the win.
Justin Caba (Yonkers, N.Y./Stepinac) led all
players with three goals while Billy Spack (Arlington,
Va./Yorktown) and Austen Lein
(New Vernon, N.J./Madison) each added two scores. Three
Susquehanna players finished two assists apiece –
Luke Delavan (Madison, N.J./Madison),
Tylere Fritts (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) and
Tim Pastore (Ridgewood,
N.J./Ridgewood/Springfield).
SU goalie Will Torrence (Wallingford, Pa./Strath
Haven) recorded 11 saves in his first start of the
season.
The squad held a slim, 27-23 edge in total shots but dominated
in faceoffs, as Ryan Oakes (North Yarmouth,
Maine/Cheverus) won 11 of the 15 in the game.
The teams traded goals in the opening 10 minutes of the game.
Lein got SU on the board first less than 90 seconds into the action
before Gwynedd-Mercy's Roy Bakeoven knotted it one-all with
6:34 on the clock.
The Crusaders scored back-to-back goals from Lein and
Dustin Breakey (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland
Valley) to make it 3-1 with just 2:12 to play in the
opening quarter before the Griffin's Mason Risner scored with
33 seconds left to make it a one-goal game (3-2). Little did
Gwynedd-Mercy (1-4) know that would be its final goal of the
afternoon.
Neither squad found the back of the net in the second quarter as
SU took that 3-2 lead into halftime.
Early in the third quarter, Caba scored his first goal of the
season for a 4-2 game.
The Susquehanna defense continued to keep the Griffins off the
scoreboard and the Crusader offense took some of the pressure off
its defenders by exploding for four fourth-quarter goals, with two
from Caba, including the final score with 2:42 on the clock that
made it 9-2.
Next game: Tuesday, March 15 at Franklin & Marshall
– 3:00 p.m.
