The men’s lacrosse team continued its early-season momentum with a commanding 19-5 victory over Mount St. Mary’s University on Saturday at Fisher Stadium.
Sophomore attacker Joshua Heaney led the Leopards (3-2 overall) with five goals and an assist. Overall, Lafayette attempted 49 shots compared to Mount St. Mary’s (1-3 overall) 17 and recorded 36 ground balls compared to the Mountaineers’ 17. Face-offs were yet another major portion of the Leopards’ victory, winning 24 out of 28 against the Mountaineers.
Senior midfielder Aidan Kopen controlled the floor throughout the contest, and the team spent much of its time distributing the ball before shooting, contributing to the blowout win.
The game kicked off with junior midfielder Nick Faccone victorious on the face-off, and the Maroon and White controlling the ball for most of the first quarter. Faccone won 14 out of 16 face-offs over the game and led the team with six ground balls.
Sophomore midfielder Joe Duggan commenced the scoring within the game’s first two minutes, with sophomore attacker Ben DiBattista following suit, along with two consecutive goals from Heaney. Two more Leopards found the net before Mount St. Mary’s tallied one goal to close the first quarter, giving the Leopards a 6-1 lead at the start of the second.
Keeping their foot on the pedal, the Maroon and White scored another five goals in the second, while keeping the Mountaineers to just one, going into the locker room with an 11-2 lead. This featured a goal by sophomore midfielder Christian Tapia, his career first.
The Mountaineers went scoreless in the third quarter, on account of two turnovers caused by junior defender George Urich and five face-offs won by Faccone, Tapia and freshman face-off specialist Luka Vecchione. Lafayette extended its lead to 16-2 with five more goals — two by Heaney, and one apiece from sophomore attacker Clifford Chapman, sophomore midfielder Charlie Merrick and senior attacker Nick Muller.
Lafayette closed out the game in the fourth quarter with two goals by freshman attacker Jett Klassen and one by senior attacker Aidan Best, while allowing three Mountaineer garbage time goals to win the game 19-5.
The Leopards will look to defend home turf once again against St. John’s University (2-2 overall) on Saturday.