Box Score

MADISON, N.J. – Seven third period goals by the Susquehanna men's lacrosse team propelled the Crusaders over Drew 12-9 in the first Landmark Conference game of 2013 on Saturday.

SU (5-3, 1-0) was led by junior Austen Lein (Madison, N.J. / Madison) and senior John Kerrigan (Maple Glen, Pa. / La Salle College HS), who both recorded hat tricks. Senior Tylere Fritts (Chatham, N.J. / Chatham) had four points on two goals and two assists.

Sophomore Carmen Raroha (Voorhees, N.J. / Bishop Eustace) scored twice and seniors Marcus Cheatham (Reisterstown, Md. / Loyola) and Dave Rinaldi (Hingham, Mass. / Boston College HS) both added a score. Rinaldi's goal in the third quarter was the first of his career for the Crusaders.

The Orange and Maroon jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first quarter after a goal by Lein and a man-up score by Fritts. However, the Rangers (1-3, 0-1) tied the game with a pair of scores but SU reclaimed the lead 3-2 when Kerrigan fired in his first goal with only four seconds left in the opening period.

The Rangers tallied three goals to take the lead, 5-3, at 4:59 in the second quarter. Cheatham got the Crusaders with one with his fourth goal of the year at 4:43 and Raroha knotted the game at 5-5 with his score at 3:01 left in the first half.

The third quarter was all SU as the Crusaders came out of intermission and outscored the Rangers 7-1. Lein scored only 38 seconds into the second half on a man-up opportunity to give SU a 6-5 advantage.

Raroha scored at 12:15 but Drew responded with another goal to cut the lead to 7-6 only one minute later. Rinaldi's first career score came at 9:36 in the third and Kerrigan registered two goals to close out the period as the Crusaders took a 12-6 lead entering the fourth.

The Rangers scored two goals only ten seconds apart to cut their deficit to 12-8 with 3:39 to go but the Crusaders only allowed one more shot the rest of the game to win the conference opener.

Senior Will Torrence (Wallingford, Pa. / Strath Haven) played all 60 minutes, recording seven saves and allowing two man-up goals. SU was outshot by the Rangers 41-31, but had more shots on goal (19 to 16) and more man-up opportunities (7 to 5).

The Crusaders host Messiah on Wednesday, March 20 at 6:15 p.m.