Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/20/19
From Press Releases
Mark Buannic scored five times and Zach Bauer and Anthony Firmani had a dominant day at the face-off X as Eastern University Men’s Lacrosse held off a late rally from the visiting Widener University Pride to earn a 12-9 win. The Eagles scored six goals in a row in the second quarter to grab a lead they would never relinquish.
How It Happened:
After one period, the Eagles held a 2-1 lead on goals from Buannic and Trent Ashton. The Pride won the first face-off of the second quarter and scored to tie the game. Bauer, however had an answer. The junior face-off specialist won the draw to himself going backwards before immediately reversing his direction to head downhill. He got into an attractive scoring area and fired home an overhand shot for his first goal of the year. Firmani took the next draw and won possession again. Less than a minute later, Buannic buried a pass from Ashton for a 4-2 edge. Firmani won 13-of-15 face-offs with five ground balls and Bauer was 6-of-9 with seven ground balls and a pair of goals.
Only five minutes into the second period, Colin Piper picked up his second assist of the day on Buannic’s third goal. Piper then scored from Ashton for a 6-2 lead with 3:27 on the clock. On the next possession, Bauer again found his way into the offensive zone. Ashton had the ball checked out of his stick, but Bauer beat the defense to the ground ball and shoveled in a shot for a 7-2 edge.
Buannic scored a man-up goal with 95 second left in the half for a six goal lead. The Eagles (3-5) won the ensuing face-off, but a turnover turned into a transition chance and the Pride capitalized to pull the score back to 8-3 before the half. Eastern had a 26-18 edge in first-half shots Brett McDonald (Council Rock North) made six of his 11 saves before the intermission.
Widener (1-6) scored the first three goals of the second half to close the Eastern lead to two goals. Piper had an answer with an unassisted goal with five and a half minutes to play. Widener scored in transition after a save from sophomore goalie Carter Landry to close the gap to 9-7.
McDonald made a big kick save late in the period and Antonio Yeoman dug out the ground ball and ran the clear. Piper grabbed a loose ball on the crease and put away his third of the game with seven seconds to play.
The Pride scored the first two goals of the fourth to pull within a goal at 10-9 with nearly 11 minutes to play. McDonald made a key stop to keep Eastern up and Buannic eventually gave the Eagles another two-goal cushion with a highlight reel scoop shot on a pass from Yeoman with seven minutes left.
The Eagles managed the clock and added a Kyle Mulrane tally on Pipers third assist of the day for the final margin.
Connor Ball and Brady Franks scored three goals each for the Pride on Wednesday evening, but the Pride.
Delaware Valley 12, Albright 4
Seven different players registered a goal as the Aggies ran away from visiting Albright.
The Aggies improved to 3-4 overall while the Lions remain winless at 0-6.
Brandon Keller scored two goals and added two assists for four points and Jordan Smith (Quakertown) also notched four points on three goals and one helper. Matt Waibel (Avon Grove) followed with two goals and an assist for three points and Dylan Brasch (1G,1A, Clearview Regional-NJ), Alex Gunderson (1G,1A), and Ben Napieralski (2G) all registered two points.
Haverford 16, Gwynedd Mercy 10
The Fords will head into Centennial Conference play with momentum on its side after a victory over Gwynedd Mercy on Swan Field. Haverford used big first and fourth quarters, outscoring the visiting Griffins 11-5 in those periods, to finish the non-conference portion of its schedule on a high note.
Sean Mowatt-Larssen scored a season-high five goals and assisted on another to pace Haverford’s attack in the win. Stephen DeLeo and Ben Frost, who both entered the game tied with Mowatt-Larssen for the team lead in goals, also recorded hat tricks while Garret Trucksess (Haverford School) netted a pair of goals. Frost also assisted on four goals while Rob McLallen dished out three assists in addition to his goal.
