ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. - The third-ranked Mercyhurst men's lacrosse team overcame a 3-2 first quarter deficit using a 6-1 second to run past the host Molloy College Lions by a final of 17-9 on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action.

Anthony Teresky had a hand in giving the home side a 2-0 lead as he setup Kevin Pastier and then fired his own shot beyond the reach of keeper Hunter Emerson.  Nathan Grenon fired a rocket into the top-corner of the net manned by James O'Grady.  Nicholas Mabe, Devin Pipher and Peyton Manko each recorded a shot, but O'Grady was equal to all of them.  Molloy would make it 3-1 when Jack Egan scored unassisted, but then Benjamin Smith-Wilcox found a cutting Grenon for his second of the frame to make it 3-2 after one.  

The Lakers looked to assert themselves to being the second as Dan Kritkausky, Grenon and Pipher all fired at the cage, unfortunately, none of them hit the net.  However, Caleb Kueber would finally beat O'Grady at the 4:52 make and then just 13-seconds later off the ensuing faceoff James Wittmeyer fired one into the cage to give the Lakers their first lead 4-3.  Egan buried his second of the contest to tie things up, before the Smith-Wilcox to Kueber connection struck two more times to push the advantage to 6-4.  Mabe would cash in with 81-seconds remaining and Pipher notched his first of the day on the man-up opportunity to give Hurst an 8-4 lead at half.  

Mercyhurst came out of the break flying as Shawn Doran won the faceoff and got the ball to Grenon who ripped a shot past O'Grady for a 9-4 edge with 14:04 remaining.  Things dried up for the next nine minutes, before the Kueber/Smith-Wilcox duo worked in reverse as Smith-Wilcox scored his first of the game.  Egan and Manko would each tally for their respective teams in the final two minutes to leave the Lakers up 11-5 through three. 

Doran began the fourth with a bang as he won the draw and buried the rock seven ticks in bumping the advantage to 12-5.  Brett Olney and Pipher both cashed in 10-seconds apart on a pair of man-up chances stretching the margin to 14-5.  The Lakers pushed the advantage to a dozen just over halfway into the frame as Pipher, Wittmeyer and Nicholas Bartone each hit the back of the net for a 17-5 lead.  Molloy closed the contest on a 4-0 run with Nick Del Giorno, Scott Capicchioni, Richie Polizzi, and Ryan Downing all recording a goal for the 17-9 final.  

Mercyhurst held a 52-28 shots advantage (36-19 on goal).  The Lakers held a 32-15 lead in groundballs and a 19-9 edge in faceoff wins.  Mercyhurst was also a perfect 6-6 on the man-up, while the Lions went 1-4.  

Kueber led the way with seven points (three goals and four assists).  Grenon had five points (three goals and two assists).  Smith-Wilcox and Pipher each bagged four points combining for four goals and four helpers.  Doran went 16-21 at the X and had a team-high 12 groundballs.  Emerson made 10 stops in cage. 

Teresky, Egan, and Polizzi each had multi-point games joining together for four goals and four assists.  Andrew Chu was 6-18 on the faceoff.  O'Grady was forced to make 18 saves.

On Deck - Top-10 Battle
The Lakers will welcome seventh-ranked Seton Hill University for their G-MAC opener at Saxon Stadium on Saturday afternoon at 12pm.