Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/8/14
From Press Release
After a slow start, the Cabrini men’s lacrosse team found its footing and ran to a 14-8 win over the visiting Hampden-Sydney College Tigers this afternoon at Edith Robb Dixon Field. The victory improves the Blue and White to 4-0 on the year.
This marks the first time the Cavaliers have opened a season 4-0 since the 2008 campaign. Ironically, the fourth victory to open the 2008 season came in a 14-9 win at Hampden-Sydney.
Junior Tyler Johnston (Ridley) led the Cavaliers with a season high eight points on four goals and four assists. Fellow junior Mike Leyden (Haverford High) added four goals and an assist in the win. Junior Damian Sobieski (Avon Grove) and senior Corey Elmer added three points each on the day. Sobieski’s points came with a hat trick, while Elmer paired two goals and a helper.
With Sobieski’s second goal, the junior became the 21st Cabrini player to eclipse the 100 career point plateau.
The Cavaliers showed some rust in the early going after a full week without game action. The Tigers took advantage, building a 3-0 lead in the game’s first five minutes. Freshman Evan Downey opened Blue and White score book with a goal in the 10th minute. Johnston’s first of the day came as an unassisted tally before the junior evened the score at 3-3 with his second goal of the game with just 14 seconds left in the opening period.
Sobieski’s first goal of the day came less than a minute into the second half. Less than two minutes later the Tigers leveled the score at 4-4. Johnston found Leyden with 94 seconds left in the period for a slim 5-4 lead, but Hampden-Syndey closed the period with a late goal to send the teams into halftime tied at five.
Elmer put Cabrini ahead with six minutes left in the third period, just minutes before a costly cross check penalty on the Tigers gave the Cavaliers an opening. During the two minute man-up opportunity, Sobieski netted a pair of goals, including his 100th career point. Johnston added a goal with 40 seconds left in the period, extending the lead to 9-5.
The Cavaliers put the game away in the fourth quarter, scoring five unanswered goals. Johnston’s fourth goal of the day came just 83 seconds into the period. On the ensuing faceoff, junior Anthony DiNenno (Avon Grove) won the draw, scooped the ground ball and found Elmer alone in front of the goal. Leyden then iced the win with three consecutive goals in a four minute span.
Cabrini outshot the Tigers 51-24, including a combined 21 by Johnston and fellow junior Anthony DiSanzo. The Blue and White also scooped 48 ground balls. Sophomores Brian Kittredge and Dan Hopson (Interboro) scooped five ground balls each, career highs for both, while Kittredge forced a career best three turnovers.
Freshman goaltender Hank Altschuler (Lower Merion) recorded nine saves on the day for his fourth victory. DiNenno won 14 of his 21 chances inside faceoff circle.
Ithaca 6, Ursinus 5
Nationally-ranked Ithaca scored a man-up goal with 2:19 left in the game, as the 15th-ranked Bombers (3-1) defeated host Ursinus (2-1).
Ithaca erased a two-goal deficit at intermission, scoring three goals in the third and outscoring Ursinus 5-1 in the second half.
The game-winning goal came from senior midfielder Ryan Burns with 2:19 left. Ursinus had tied the score at 5-all with 2:23 left in the third when senior midfielder Nile Thompson (Lower Merion) scored a short-handed goal.
Ursinus got two goals each from junior attacks Mike Neal and Steve Smyrl (Garnet Valley), while junior attack Mike Stratton (Manheim Township) had two assists.
Ithaca was led by two goals and two assists from junior attack James Manilla and two goals and an assist by senior attack Pat Slawta.
Ursinus started off by scoring the game’s first two goals in the first 2:50 of the game. Smyrl scored his sixth goal of the season unassisted at 13:53, while Neal followed with his fourth goal of the season at 13:10 for the 2-0 advantage. Following Slawta’s first goal at 11:31, Ursinus went up 3-1 at 14:31 left in the second when Neal scored his second on a man-up opportunity. He was assisted by Stratton.
Trailing 4-2 at intermission, Slawta and Manilla scored goals, followed by a goal from sophomore Michael Walker with 3:17 left in the third on a Slawta assist that gave Ithaca its first lead at 5-4.
For Ursinus, senior face off specialist Shawn Caven (Pennsvbury) was 7-for-13 on faceoffs, and had six groundballs. Junior defender Ryan Ridinger had two caused turnovers.
Ithaca got seven groundballs from junior long stick midfielder Jimmy Ryan, while senior midfielder Brandon Henne was 6-for-11 on faceoffs.
In goal, Ursinus sophomore Brian Neff made 17 saves while sophomore goalkeeper Scott Sidnam made 11 for the Bombers.
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