SELINSGROVE, PA (April 30, 2022) -- The Susquehanna University men's lacrosse team, needing at least a six-goal win over visiting Drew University Saturday to earn a Landmark Conference playoff spot, knocked off the visiting Rangers 14-4 in the 2022 regular season finale from Sassafras Field. 

Prior to the game, the River Hawks (9-8, 3-4 Landmark Conference) honored their four seniors in Logan Frank, Mike Nevins, Gavin Rossman and Ben Shaffer, but the momentum from that continued into the contest. Thanks to the 10-goal win, the River Hawks finished the season in a three-way tie with Moravian University and Drew. Due to each team beating one another, goal differential was used as the tiebreaker with SU holding a +3 margin over the other two teams. Susquehanna will now head to Washington, DC Wednesday, May 4 at 4 p.m. to take on top seed Catholic University. 

Drew led 2-1 after six minutes of the game, but first-year Chris Ciccarello started a 11-0 run for the River Hawks that spanned through the beginning of the fourth quarter. Susquehanna could have been down more in the early going, but junior goalkeeper Jozef Korpics made nine saves in the opening seven minutes of the game to keep it close. 

That would open the door for the River Hawk offense to settle in, as Steven Musser tallied twice in a 4-0 second quarter for the River Hawks to make it 7-2 at the break. Understanding the need for more goals, SU wouldn't relent as it poured in five unanswered goals in the third quarter highlighted by a pair from first-year Brennan Lorence. 

Things got a little dicey in the fourth quarter, as Drew (9-7, 3-4 Landmark) tallied twice in a two-minute stretch to make it 12-4 with 11:10 to play. The defensive unit for Susquehanna would tighten, and first-year Jack Gaillard scored a pair of insurance goals late to seal the victory and spot in the Landmark Conference Tournament. 

Gaillard had another sensational game for the River Hawks, as he posted seven points on four assists and three goals. Gaillard added three ground balls, as he finished the regular season with a team-high 26 assists. Lorence registered three goals and four ground balls on a team-high eight shots, and Musser posted his fifth hat trick of the season with three on the day. 

Logan Frank, celebrating his final game on Sassafras Field, posted two goals and an assist and Rob Swenson set up a pair of tallies in the win. One of the big stories as well for SU was its continued success at the face-off dot, as Ryan Prum was 14-of-22 while adding eight ground balls. Mike Nevins had a strong game defensively with four ground balls and two caused turnovers, and Ted Zaborowski caused a team-high three turnovers to go with three loose ball pick-ups. 

Rossman was also strong with two caused turnovers defensively, and Korpics put together a goalkeeping masterclass with 21 stops between the pipes while allowing just four goals. The .840 save percentage on the day was a season-high for the junior. Dominic Contella also picked up four ground balls for SU, which won the ground ball battle, 45-40. Susquehanna added a 45-38 edge in shots as well. 

Mike DeMayo scored twice for the Rangers, while Craig Wilkie posted a goal and an assist in the loss. 

Up Next

• Susquehanna will play in the Landmark Conference semifinals Wednesday in Washington, DC against Catholic University at 4 p.m. at Carlini Field. 

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