(Photo Courtesy of Brown Athletics)
Brown saw seven seniors, including four starters, return from suspension on Monday night. That replenished Bears squad went into Villanova Stadium and snapped the Wildcats’ six-game winning streak with a 13-11 victory.
Goalie Connor Theriault made 22 saves to anchor a Brown defense that held the Wildcats to just four goals in the second half. Devon McLane had six points off three goals and three assists.
McLane was one of the previously suspended players who contributed in his return. Midfielder Griffin King had two goals and two assists, two-way midfielder Trevor Yeboah-Kodie grabbed two ground balls, and Logan Paff had a goal which he got to go from 57 yards away to break the Villanova 10-man ride.
Brown faceoff man Matthew Gunty returned after missing the UMass game on Saturday and went 4-for-4 to start before leaving the game with an injury. Villanova’s Justin Coppola went 8-for-13 (61%) at the dot and also left the game early, heading to the sideline following a hit late in the second quarter.
The first was very much a game of runs. Matt Campbell got Villanova on the board first, but just over a minute later Devon McLane got past Reid Colwell at X and turned the corner to get Brown going. The Bears scored each of the next four goals and ended that opening frame on a 5-1 run and holding a 5-2 lead.
Villanova returned the favor in the second quarter, outscoring the Bears 5-1 to take the 7-6 advantage heading into the half. The Wildcats ended the quarter on a four-goal run that ended with a Mason Reale score with just 13 ticks remaining in the half.
The pendulum back to Brown in the third quarter and would, more or less, stay with the Bears for the remainder of the contest.
Dash Sachs won each of the first four second half faceoff for Brown and the Bears would score each of the first four goals of the third quarter before Villanova got a true set possession. Those scores came from the sticks of Marcus Wertheim, Gibson Linnehan, Aidan McLane, and Ryan Behrens. Logan Paff and Matteo Corsi added a pair later in the frame to pull Brown ahead 12-7.
While Villanova scored four of the final five goals of the game, Brown would never relinquish the lead. Despite the Wildcats putting up 17 shots in the fourth quarter alone, they had trouble getting past Theriaut as he made seven saves in that final frame to help ensure the Brown victory.
Brown returns to Ivy League play on Saturday as they face Princeton on the road. Villanova will open Big East play on Saturday at home against St. John’s.
Mercer Tops Bellarmine
Three times Mercer found themselves man-up late in the second quarter and each of those possessions ended with the Bears putting the ball in the back of the net. Jack Parolin scored the latter two goals less than 20 seconds a part at the 1:55 and 1:36 mark of the frame. A pair of goals from Parker Junod and Michael Frederick with just seconds left in the half pushed Mercer ahead 12-5 going into the break.
Mercer would put home one more man-up goal in the final minute of the game, coming from the stick of Matt O’Connor to have them end the day 4-for-10 on such situations. While going just 40% on the man-up, the Bears cashed in when it mattered most and used those instances to help build out their lead, which they held from the opening whistle to the final buzzer.
Bellarmine answered that Mercer five-goal run late in the second quarter with one of their own as the Knights put home each of the first five goals in the second half, which included a pair from Justin Westcoat, to cut the lead to 12-10. However, Bellarmine was unable to tie it or get the deficit below two.
Four Bellarmine penalties in the fourth quarter and Ashton Woods’s continued success at the dot on a day where he went 19-for-30 (63%) for the Bears helped allow Mercer to keep the upper hand as time ticked down. Goals from Taylor Dooley, Parker Junod, and Matt O’Connor helped the Bears outscore the Knights 4-2 in the final 9:31 of the game, helping to lead to the 15-12 victory.
Parker Junod led Mercer with six points off five goals and two assists whole Taylor Dooley had two goals and two assists for four points. Colin Kelley made 14 saves in cage.
Christian Della Rocco had five goals for Bellarmine. Dante Batista replaced JC Higginbotham in cage at the end of the first quarter and made 12 saves on the day.
Mercer (3-7, 2-2 ASUN) now moves to face Robert Morris on Saturday. Bellarmine (6-3, 1-2 ASUN) travels to Lindenwood on Saturday.
Detroit Mercy Upsets Robert Morris
Detroit Mercy came into Wednesday afternoon with a 0-6 record and searching for that coveted first win of the season. The Titans would indeed find it as they pulled off the 14-8 upset victory over defending ASUN champion Robert Morris.
In a game that was tied 3-3 at the end of the first quarter and 5-5 at the half, Detroit Mercy entered the fourth quarter with an 8-7 advantage. A man-up score from Robert Morris, coming from the stick of Colton Lidstone, would make it an 8-8 game early on in the final frame. However, that would be the last score the Colonials would be able to muster as they went 1-for-7 shooting during the fourth quarter.
Detroit Mercy, on the other hand, began to heat up and Ryan Birney became unstoppable. Drew Kessenich fed Aidan Bishop for a go-ahead goal at the 9:07 mark of the fourth quarter. Less than a minute later, Kessenich would find himself on the feeding end of a score once again as he found Ryan Birney for his first of the day.
That Birney score would be the first of eventually four consecutive goals from senior as he found the back of the net again, again, and again to pull the Titans ahead 13-8 with 5:22 left in the contest. Luke Majick, who had score the first goal of the day, added another one at the 2:35 mark to bookend the game with scores from himself and help ensure the 14-8 victory for Detroit Mercy.
Logan Flaherty went 5-for-8 (62%) at the dot during that final frame to help give the Titans those possessions it needed to put the contest away. He went 10-for-26 (38%) on the day as a whole.
Birney’s four goals led the way for the Titans while Drew Kessenich also had four points off two goals and two assists. Jakob Hemme made nine saves in cage.
Taggart Clark led Robert Morris with four points off three goals and one assist. Nate Randall made 12 saves in cage before being pulled late in the fourth quarter. Steven Dellemonche went 14-for-24 (58%) at the dot.
Detroit Mercy (1-6, 1-2 ASUN) moves to face Queens on the road on Saturday. Robert Morris (4-4, 1-2 ASUN) welcomes Mercer to town on Saturday.
Utah Defeats Air Force in Rocky Mountain Showdown
In arguably the most high-profile ASUN game of the conference’s first big Wednesday slate, the Utah Utes defeated the Air Force Falcons 18-11.
A pair of large runs helped push the Utes over the edge in the win. Utah went on a 10-2 run from the 11:01 mark in the first quarter through the 9:15 mark of the second quarter, allowing them to jump out to a commanding 10-4 lead.
However, Air Force would strike back with a sizable run of their own as the Falcons put home five consecutive goals from late in the second through the 10:43 mark in the third quarter to cut the Utah lead to 10-9. A pair of Air Force shots that could have tied it went wide and Utah was able to strike on their ensuing possession with an MJ McMahon goal to put them back up by two (11-9).
That McMahon score would be the first of a game-ending, 8-2 run that helped put this contest away and ensured the Utes’ victory.
Jordan Hyde (5G/1A) led the way for a Utah offense that saw nine different players find the back of the net. Carson Moyer had three goals and one assist for four points. Cole Brams went 16-for-29 (55%) at the dot and Colin Lenskold made six saves in cage with a 35% save percentage.
Ethan Grandolfo led Air Force with four goals and one assist for five points. Jason Rose made 14 saves in cage with a 45% save percentage for the Falcons.
Utah (4-4, 3-0 ASUN) moves to play Jacksonville at home on Friday night. Air Force (6-3, 3-1 ASUN) moves to play Cleveland State on the road on Saturday.
Jacksonville Escapes Cleveland State
The 10th-ranked Jacksonville Dolphins escaped a potential midweek upset, defeating Cleveland State 14-12 on Wednesday afternoon.
Jacksonville trailed 6-5 at the half but quickly took back control in the third quarter. Ibraham Pio found Jack Taylor and Dylan Watson for scores less than a minute apart to tie things at 6-6. Pio would then find the back of the net himself to give Jacksonville the 7-5 lead, marking the first time Jacksonville had been in front since it’s 1-0 lead early in the game.
While Cleveland State was able to tie it at 7-7 with 4:35 in the third quarter off a Connor Zwagerman score, the Dolphins never relinquished the lead once they took hold of it. A five-goal run from the 1:56 mark of the third through the 13:20 mark of the fourth pushed Jacksonville ahead 12-7 and help put this game to rest.
Cleveland State ended the game on a 4-1 run but was unable to get any closer than the two-goal deficit they finished the game with.
Ibrahim Pio (3G/2A) led Jacksonville with five points while Jackson Intrieri had a hat trick. Luke Millican made 11 saves while Nathan Kapp 15-for-29 (51%) at the dot.
Gannon Matthews had two goals and two assists for four points to lead Cleveland State. Amiri Austin had a hat trick. Cameron Logan made 19 saves in cage.
Jacksonville (8-1, 3-0 ASUN) heads west next to play Utah on Friday night. Cleveland State (3-4, 1-2 ASUN) moves to face Air Force on Saturday.
Siena Win OT Snowy Thriller Versus Canisius
With just 12 seconds left in the overtime period, Zac Schuette got his hands free and sent home the game-winning goal to earn Siena the 10-9 victory over Canisius.
On what was a snow-covered field by half, the two sides were nearly neck-and-neck the whole way with a three-goal Siena lead early in the second quarter being the largest of the day. The second half saw three ties; he latter of which, however, would be the last and most important.
Canisius had made it an 8-8 game early in the fourth quarter with a Keegan Kozack score but Zac Schuette answered in the next few minutes for Siena to put the Saints back up by one (9-8). That wouldn’t be the last of the Golden Griffins as Kevin Carney found the back of the cage with 8:30 left to make it a 9-9 contest. Carney’s score would be the eventual overtime-forcing goal for the home team.
In those final minutes of regulation, Canisius got off just two shots to try to get ahead while Siena took eight shots during that span. Canisius’ Tommy Kunz saved half of those Siena shots to help keep the Golden Griffins alive and ensure overtime.
Similarly, it was the defenses who made all the noise in the early going of the overtime period. Kunz made a big save with 2:10 left to give the Golden Griffins possession, which they would hold until the 45 second mark. Kevin Carney and Nathan Conry both got good looks on cage but Yanchoris was there for the stop each time. The latter of those two stops helped gain Siena that final possession in which Schuette put home the game-winner.
Zac Schuette (3G/2A) led Siena with five points while George Rusnak had two goals. Chris Yanchoris made 20 saves in the game.
Colin Kelly and Kevin Carney each had two goals for the Golden Griffins. Micah Hanson went 17-for-23 (73%) at the dot. Tommy Kunz made 15 saves in cage.
Siena (4-4, 2-2 MAAC) moves to face Wagner at home on Saturday. Canisius (2-8, 1-3 MAAC) will host VMI on Saturday.
Other Scores
- Lindenwood beat Queens 15-6 to earn its first ASUN victory. Cam Smith led the Lions with four goals in the victory.
- LIU took down Wagner 13-6, riding behind a 21-save day from Sean Gillman.
- Scott O’Connor’s hat trick helped lead Manhattan past Quinnipiac 12-5.
- Mount St. Mary’s blasted VMI 20-5 for its third straight win. Corbin Giblin had a hat trick to lead the Mountaineers.
- Marist defeated Sacred Heart 13-9. James Lyons (2G/3A) and JoJo Pirreca (3G/2A) each had five points.
Lacrosse Bucket 