The men’s lacrosse team (4-3 overall, 1-2 Patriot League) was back to its winning ways on Saturday with an emphatic 17-8 win at the College of the Holy Cross (2-5 overall, 0-3 Patriot League).
The Leopards started their scoring early with junior attacker Riley Sullivan scoring at the 13:27 mark. Both captains, senior midfielder John Mathes and senior attack Peter Lehman, also contributed to the scoring spree as the Leopards led 7-2 after 15 minutes.
It didn’t take long for the Maroon and White to extend their lead, with senior attacker Charlie Cunniffe completing his hat trick only 42 seconds into the second quarter. Cunniffe went on to score again four seconds later, bringing the score to 9-2.
After leading the team in scoring, Cunniffe emphasized his team-oriented mindset.
“I don’t have any individual goals,” Cunniffe said. “I just want to be able to help the team win games in any way I can.”
Holding a comfortable lead, the Leopards eventually conceded their third goal. The team quickly responded with two additional goals, however, courtesy of sophomore midfielder Aidan Kopen and senior attacker Kalman Kraham. At halftime, the score was 11-3 in favor of the Leopards.
“The game went well for us on both sides of the ball, which was nice to see,” Cunniffe said. “It was also great to have some new midfielders like Aidan Kopen and Brendan Poirier make a big impact and contribute to the scoring.”
The second half looked similar to the first, with Lafayette extending its lead after a ferocious strike from Mathes. Sophomore attacker Zach Zukowsky also joined in on the action, bringing the lead to 15-4 with a quarter remaining.
Despite the Crusaders scoring four goals in the final period, the sophomore duo of Kopen and Zukowsky struck again. This sealed the final score at 17-8 in the Leopards’ favor.
The win marked Lafayette’s first of this year’s Patriot League campaign.
“Winning our first league game was a nice feeling and we are looking forward to keeping the momentum going into this weekend,” Cunniffe said.
The Leopards currently sit in fifth place in the Patriot League standings, with five conference contests remaining. There are positive signs for the future, as the team’s 13.29 goals per game is behind only Army West Point (7-0 overall, 3-0 Patriot League).
From an individual perspective, Lafayette boasts some impressive statistics as well. Cunniffe’s 2.71 goals per game is the fourth-best in the league, while sophomore goalkeeper Joe Doherty has the second-highest save percentage in the conference with .562.
The Leopards face Loyola University Maryland (2-6 overall, 0-2 Patriot League) at home tomorrow at noon.
Two additional members of the men’s lacrosse team did not respond to request for comment.
