CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Senior attackman Preston Ouellette (Trumbull, Conn./St. Joseph) and first-year midfielder Jake Turner (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) paced the Susquehanna University men's lacrosse team with two goals each Thursday afternoon. Susquehanna (0-2) dropped a 17-9 non-conference decision to DeSales University (1-1), who received national preseason votes and made it to the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship Tournament Second Round in 2019.
 
Susquehanna did not come out strong, falling behind 13-3 at halftime, as the River Hawks struggled to find an offensive rhythm early on. SU will continue to develop as the season progresses, building upon the positive takeaways on the field.
 
Susquehanna 9, DeSales 17
 
How It Happened

• DeSales opened up a 6-0 lead in the first 15 minutes with six goals on 12 shot attempts as six different Bulldogs found the back of the net.
• A positive for the River Hawks in the first quarter was their 5-of-6 effort at the X as redshirt senior Joe Acquaviva (Wyckoff, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) went 3-of-4 and junior Ryan Bucher (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) won both his face-offs.
• Ten goals were scored in the second period as DeSales outscored SU, 7-3, in the frame.
• Turner put Susquehanna on the board with the first goal of the second quarter at 13:54 off an assist from senior captain Jack Harper (Brecksville, Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview).
• Over a nine-minute span, the Bulldogs notched six of the next seven goals to stake a 12-2 lead with 3:53 left in the half.
• Harper scored one of his own at 2:29 before DU added another one in the final 10 seconds to take a 13-3 advantage into halftime.
• The River Hawks continued to perform well in face-offs, winning five of 12 in the second quarter.

 

• Susquehanna kept pace with the Bulldogs in the third period, alternating goals with the hosts.
• All three River Hawks goals resulted from extra-man opportunities as SU went 3-for-4 in the quarter.
• Susquehanna did some good things in the fourth frame, tallying three goals on seven shots.
• The River Hawks defense slowed down the DeSales offense, holding them to one goal on five shots while forcing them into nine turnovers.

 
Inside the Box Score

• Shots – SU 27, DeSales 42
• Saves – SU 14, DeSales 7
• Turnovers – SU 34, DeSales 24
• Clears – SU 10-23, DeSales 16-25
• Ground Balls – SU 30, DeSales 46
• Face-offs – SU 16, DeSales 13
• Extra Man Opportunities – SU 4-5, DeSales 2-2

 
Top Performers

• Harper and Turner paced the River Hawks with three points each as Harper scored once and dished out a career-best two assists while Turner picked up his first collegiate points on two goals and an assist.
• Ouellette also had two goals for SU to improve his team-leading total to three thus far.
• Acquaviva finished the day 10-of-16 in face-offs while Bucher was 6-of-13 with four ground balls.
• Senior captain Jacob Fox (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) continued to play well on defense, leading Susquehanna with a game- and career-bests of nine ground balls and five caused turnovers.
• First-year defenseman Ted Zaborowski (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) also had a strong performance on defense with season-highs of seven ground balls and two caused turnovers.
• Senior Josh Weaver (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) had a tough day in goal, giving up 10 goals in 22:03 with only four stops. Junior captain Tyler Gross (Magnolia, Del./Caesar Rodney) came in relief for the final 37:57, yielding seven goals with a career-high 10 saves.
• Three different Bulldogs finished with four points each in DeSales' first win of the season while Vincent Groelly earned the win in goal with six saves in 55:23.

 
Up Next for the River Hawks

• Feb. 22 vs. King's (Pa.) (0-0) – Selinsgrove, Pa. / Sassafras Multipurpose Field – 12:00 p.m.

 
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