SELINSGROVE, PA - The start of Susquehanna University's men's lacrosse team's midweek Landmark Conference game against Catholic presented some obstacles as a 5 p.m. slated start was pushed back to 6:35 p.m. due to inclement weather. When play did start the River Hawks were faced with an even bigger obstacle with a 3-0 deficit through the first four minutes. While Susquehanna answered the call to get as close to within one goal, they were unable to tie the score as the Cardinals left Selinsgrove with a 16-12 win.

Wednesday's battle did call on some regulars for Susquehanna to get on the board as team-leading scorers Chris Ciccarello, Jack Gaillard, and Brennan Lorence each notched two goals. Ciccarello added four assists to run his career totals to 166 points on 107 goals and 59 assists, while Gaillard kicked in three more assists to swell his career numbers to 228 points on 142 assists and 86 goals. Lorence's second consecutive two-goal game brought his school-record career goals total up to 181, putting him nine away from the Landmark Conference record of 190. First-year Tyler Young also added two goals, while the rest of the goal tally sheet was filled out by one goal each from Steven Musser, Reese Ackerman, Kieran Thomas, and defenseman Sean Yamada running coast-to-coast for his first career goal. 

Despite the lengthy delay it took Catholic just over four minutes to settle in with three straight goals, including taking the opening faceoff down the field for the first strike just 18 seconds in. Faced with a 3-0 deficit with 10:57 remaining in the first, the River Hawks rallied to make the score 4-3 thanks to Ciccarello scoring the team's first goal, then after another Catholic goal Young got his first goal of the night, followed by Lorence cutting the lead to one off a pass from Ciccarello. Before SU could hang its hat trailing by one goal at quarter's end, CUA spoiled that notion when Billy Burton scored with 11 seconds left in the quarter for a 5-3 score after one. The hits kept coming as Catholic opened the second with two goals to extend its lead to four at 7-3 before SU got two back after Ackerman score from a Gaillard feed and Young again from a Ciccarello assist to make it 7-5. CUA answered with two straight to make it 9-5 before Thomas was set up for a late first-half score from Musser to make the score 9-6 at the half.

The River Hawks opened the second half on the comeback trail, cutting the lead down to two again after Musser scored from Ciccarello to make it 9-7 with 14:14 left in the third. This again would be met by Catholic scoring two more to push the lead back up to 11-7. This trend would continue all through the second half as Susquehanna could only manage to cut Catholic's lead to as close as three goals, despite a late push that saw Yamada net his first career goal at the end of the third quarter and Gaillard scoring to start the fourth to make it 13-10. CUA outscored SU 3-2 in the remaining stretch to preserve the win.

Augie Granatelli got the start in goal, registering 11 saves in 59:23 of action, with a quick adjustment giving TJ Lynch 37 seconds of service in net. Catholic's counterpart Colton Manorek posted 11 saves. The Cardinals finished with a 48-37 lead in shots and 27-23 in shots on goal. Each side scored once off of extra-man opportunities, with the Cardinals going 1-for-5 on these chances and the River Hawks 1-for-3. Catholic led the faceoff battle 19-12, with Brandon Cash leading Susquehanna with seven wins on 12 chances, along with three from Alexander Messina and one each from Dylan New and Sergio Cohen-Chirinos. 

After three straight Landmark defeats with a 1-3 league record and 8-4 overall, Susquehanna looks to start anew on the road, something the team has excelled in so far with a 6-0 record in away games. Their first stop is just up the road at Lycoming Saturday at 1 p.m., then at Juniata Wednesday at 5 p.m. The team's remaining home game is against Wilkes on Saturday, April 12 on Senior Day, followed by two more on the road at Goucher Wednesday, April 16 and Elizabethtown Saturday, April 26.