ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The fourth-ranked Mercyhurst men's lacrosse team came out of the gates strong and rode a 5-0 first quarter lead to a comfortable 19-4 win over previously undefeated Roberts Wesleyan College in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at the RWC Turf Field.
Mercyhurst wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as
Devin Pipher took a feed from
Caleb Kueber and delivered an over-the-shoulder shot past Pat Hynes for a goal just 35-seconds in. Roberts Wesleyan tried to answer back quickly, but Hunter Lemieux, Matt Gademske, and Michael Pierog were all turned aside by
Cole Pellicano in cage.
Nathan Grenon single-handedly gave the Lakers a multi-goal advantage as Kueber set up once with a beautiful feed down the ally and then he did it on his own with an unassisted marker making it 3-0 with 4:06 to go. Pipher ripped a low-to-high strike and
Ben Smith-Wilcox cashed in man-up for the 5-0 edge through one.
Grenon completed his hat-trick early in the second with a strong run down the left side and cutting across the crease for the finish with 1:37 gone. Kueber netted his first of the day just over a minute later when
Nicholas Mabe hit him all alone right in front of goal. With 5:23 left in the first half Kueber notched goal number two on the day after
Bryce Johnson found him on the right-side of the crease to make it 8-0. Roberts Wesleyan finally dented the brick wall that had been erected by Pellicano in goal as Nate Maloney took advantage of a visitor's turnover with 2:46 remaining. Mercyhurst responded 56-seconds later as the Johnson-Kueber connection worked in reverse. The two sides would go to the locker room with the Lakers ahead 9-1. Pellicano was a massive help in that scoreline making eight saves in the opening 30-minutes.
Mabe got the Green and Blue into double-digits with a run down the right side and a low shot past Hynes. Two minutes later the Lakers showed what it means to play "make it take it" lacrosse as
Gavin Ingalls finished off a pass from
Michael Rossi, then off a
Shawn Doran faceoff win Kueber scored thanks to a Pipher dish, before the same process repeated itself just with Pipher hitting the net to extend the cushion to 13-1 still with 11:35 left in the third. Mercyhurst added on to their lead with markers from
Jacob Emerson, Kueber, Johnson and Pipher with
Tommy Angelicola, Kueber as well as Johnson picking up assists during that run. Jordon Deats brought RWC to within 17-2 after three.
To begin the final quarter
Jason Pawlak took over between the pipes for the Lakers. He greeted with an early shot from Gademske that slipped past him to make it 17-3. Mercyhurst got the opportunity to get some other players on the field which Patrick Carozzi took advantage of finishing off a pass from
Quinn Simonson with 9:19 left. After Deats struck for the second time on the day,
Brett Olney replaced Pawlak in cage for the guests at the 7:33 mark.
Todd Redman netted the final goal of the day for the 19-4 victory.
Brendan Eyestone also saw action in net for the Lakers.
Team Stat Pack
Shot Attempts - Hurst, 35 / RWC, 25
Shots on Goal - Hurst, 31 / RWC, 18
Clears - Hurst, 25-28 / RWC, 16-18
Faceoff Wins - Hurst, 16 / RWC, 11
Ground Balls - Hurst, 34 / RWC, 31
Turnovers - Hurst, 17 / RWC, 18
Man-Up Opportunities - Hurst, 1-4 / RWC, 0-3
Mercyhurst Individual Stats
Points – Kueber (9), Johnson and Pipher (5), Grenon (4)
Goals – Kueber and Pipher (4), Grenon (3), Johnson (2)
Assists – Kueber (5), Johnson (3), Simonson (2)
Faceoffs - Doran (12-19), Columbus (2-5), Jobson (2-2)
Saves - Pellicano (10), Olney (2), Eyestone and Pawlak (1)
RWC Individual Stats
Goals - Deats (2)
Faceoffs – Streety (7-15), DiAmico (3-6)
Saves - Hynes (11)
On Deck
The Lakers will do battle with their biggest competitor in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference when they travel down to Greensburg, Pennsylvania for Top-5 showdown with No. 3 Seton Hill University at 3pm on Saturday, March 20th.
