Box Score TOWSON, Md. – For the second-straight year, the Susquehanna men's lacrosse team defeated Landmark Conference opponent Goucher, defeating the Gophers 9-4 on the road Friday night.
The Crusaders (9-3, 3-1) took a 1-0 lead just seven minutes into the game and never looked back. Nick Reardon (West Deptford, N.J./West Deptford) scored three of SU's nine goals while also adding two assists for a five-point afternoon. Jake Calder (Lutherville, Md./Dulaney) had two goals while Phil Lapone (Essex Fells, N.J./West Essex) had one goal and two assists.
Goalie Jared Knowlton (North Salem, N.Y./Kent School) had 18 saves in the game to pick up his eighth win of the spring. Freshman Alex Weightman (Shamong, N.J./Seneca) tied for the game high with five ground balls and also recorded a game-high four caused turnovers.
Head coach Stewart Moan and his staff could not have asked for a better start to the game. Freshman Jake Purnell (Allentown, Pa./Emmaus) won the opening face-off and seven seconds later netted his first goal of the season.
Five minutes later, Reardon made it 2-0 with his 15th goal of the spring and at the 7:17 mark of the quarter, Lapone made it 3-0 with a goal off an assist from Knowlton.
Exactly six minutes later, Goucher got on the board to make it 3-1 by the time the quarter came to a close.
The Gophers scored again seven minutes into the second quarter before J.A. Howland (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) and Reardon scored back-to-back with the second goal coming at the 1:48 mark of the period to hand the Crusaders an eventual 5-2 halftime advantage.
Calder got the second-half scoring started with a goal two-and-a-half minutes into the third quarter, making it a four-goal SU lead (6-2). Just two minutes later, Nick Kifolo (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area) scored for a 7-2 game, which remained the score heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
The Gophers scored two minutes into the fourth quarter before Calder and Reardon scored unanswered goals for a 9-3 score with 4:04 remaining. Goucher's Sam Morgan scored with 12 seconds remaining but the Crusaders' lead was more than secure.
Susquehanna returns home to host Landmark opponent Washington & Jefferson on April 11 at 12 p.m.
