Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/7/18
The 17th-ranked University of Pennsylvania men’s lacrosse team used a stout defensive effort to shut down Navy on Tuesday night, 11-3. The game was played on Tierney Field at the new US Lacrosse National Headquarters.
After allowing Navy (3-3) the first goal, Penn (3-2) went into shutdown mode and did not allow the Midshipmen to score for 39 minutes and four seconds. By that time, the Quakers were up 6-1, and they never let up in winning by their largest margin ever over the Mids.
The last time Penn allowed just three goals was April 19, 2014 in a 9-3 win over Dartmouth, and it marked the second time the Quakers have held Navy to just three goals in a game (the other coming in a 5-3 Penn win on March 28, 1984).
Simon Mathias led the Penn attack with two goals and two assists, while Kevin McGeary (Malvern Prep) and Adam Goldner (Malvern Prep) also scored twice. Overall, eight different players scored for the Quakers. At the other end, a combination of superb defense and a goalie’s best friends—the posts and the crossbar—combined to keep Navy’s score at three on a night when Penn outshot the Mids, 31-27. Reed Junkin had seven saves.
Also, Connor Keating (Haverford School) had four groundballs and a turnover on defense while Keyveat Postell (Haverford School) scored once and Anthony Giuliani (La Salle) went 5 of 8 at the faceoff X.
For Navy, Ryan Kern (Salesianum School) made five saves.
Navy opened the scoring just 2:38 into the game, but Mitch Bartolo and Kevin McGeary (off a Sean Lulley feed) scored exactly a minute apart midway through the period to give the Quakers a 2-1 lead. The Adam Goldner finished a Simon Mathias feed in the final minute of the period. The assist extended Mathias’ point-scoring streak to 33 games.
The second quarter ended up scoreless, although Navy rang the post a few times and Connor Keating nearly had a spectacular goal in front in the final seconds. But Penn took its 3-1 advantage into the locker room.
The Quakers really put this one away in the third quarter, scoring four times and opening up a 7-2 lead. Mathias got the rally started with a lefty goal from the right side, and less than five minutes later he fed Goldner who turned in traffic and somehow got off a shot that found the net. Mathias had a nice solo effort just 95 seconds later to make it 6-1.
Navy ended its scoreless streak with 3:18 left in the third, Christian Daniel finishing a solo effort, before Alex Roesner found JJ McBride who converted on the jumping lefty shot with 2:23 to go in the period.
Chris Santangelo quickly made it a 8-2 in the fourth, taking the period’s opening faceoff and running right down the chute. Just 2:19 after that, Reilly Hupfeldt (Haverford School) scored from up top off a McGeary feed. Keyveat Postell (from Ben Bedard) and McGeary (from Joe Licciardi) closed out the scoring.
Princeton 15, NJIT 8
Michael Sowers (Upper Dublin) came into Princeton’s game against NJIT needing three points to become the 34th Princeton player ever to reach 100 for his career.
Though he had three games to do it if he wanted to be the fastest Princeton player ever to reach the century mark, it would actually take him a little more than 10 minutes of the first quarter get there. By the time his night was over early in the third quarter, he was at 105 career points on 49 goals and 56 assists and had added another record to his growing portfolio of them.
Sowers had a three-goal, five-assist, eight-point night to lead Princeton to a 15-8 win over NJIT in a game that was 6-1 at the end of the first quarter and 9-3 at halftime. The win evened Princeton’s record at 2-2, with the two wins both against New Jersey teams, including an opening-day victory over Monmouth. Princeton will go for the state championship, as it were, when it hosts Rutgers Saturday at 1.
Penn State 16, Furman 5
The No. 20 Nittany Lions used a hot start to take down Furman in a neutral site matchup at Georgetown Prep in North Bethesda, Md.
Penn State out-scored the Paladins, 11-1, in the opening half to spark their way to a win.
Junior Nick Spillane had a career day as the attackman registered three goals and four assists to tie his career-best seven points. His four assists mark a new career high.
Sophomore Mac O’Keefe also added a hat trick and added two assists. Freshman Brian Townsend scored a goal and tallied three assists, while Matt Donnelly (Clearview Regional-NJ) recorded two goals, and Robby Black added a goal and an assist.
The Nittany Lions also got goals from Kevin Hill, Ryan Keenan, Gerard Arceri, Nick McEvoy, John Nostrant (Haverford School) and Cole Willard.
Mercer 10, Delaware 8
The Blue Hens’ fourth quarter rally came up just short in a loss to a feisty Mercer team on a cold afternoon at Delaware Stadium.
Sophomore Bryce Reid (Avon Grove) and Charlie Kitchen (St. Augustine Prep) both had two goals and two assists to pace the offensive attack, while seniors Will Hirschmann and Dean DiSimone (St. Augustine Prep) added two goals apiece on the afternoon.
Defensively, junior Austin Haynes (Moorestown) had five caused turnovers and three groundballs, while classmate Jake Hervada (Haverford School) was solid in the X, winning 11 of 18 faceoffs and picking up seven groundballs.
St. John’s 12, Saint Joseph’s 7
Tied 7-7 entering the fourth quarter, the Red Storm scored the final five goals of the game as St. Joe’s dropped a decision to St. John’s on Sweeney Field. With the loss, the Hawks fall to 0-3 while the Red Storm improves to 3-2.
The game had originally been scheduled for Wednesday, March 7 at 3:00 p.m. but was moved up a day due to the unfavorable weather forecast.
Senior midfielder Kyle Cain led the Hawks in scoring with a hat trick and one assist while senior attackman Chris Blewitt (1g, 2a) and graduate student attackman Mike Rastivo (1g, 1a) added multi-point efforts.
For St. John’s, Colin Duffy (Archmere Academy) had three goals and an assist and John Saunders (Ridley) led the defense with two groundballs and two caused turnovers.
Division III
Rhodes 8, Widener 7
The Pride (1-3) pulled to within a goal in the final three minutes, but fell to the Lynx.
John Dunbar (Appoquinimink-DE) and Brady Franks (State College) each scored twice for the Pride. Anthony Paone (Central Bucks South, 10 of 17 faceoff) and Paz Gismondi (West Deptford-NJ) each had two assists in the contest. Matt Horton (Emmaus) made 14 saves in net.