April 5, 2008

Box Score

Erie, Pa. - Seven different players scored as the No.10 Mercyhurst Lakers men's lacrosse team opened their home season with a 9-8 win over the Molloy Lions. The Lakers built up a sizable 6-1 lead going into the last two periods and held on through a late Molloy rally for the win. Mercyhurst improves to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the East Coast Conference. Molloy falls to 4-6 this season and 0-3 in conference play.

In the first period, Keith Galante scored at the 11:30 mark to get the Lions on the board first but Mercyhurst went on a 6-0 run in the next 26 minutes to close out the half 6-1.Six different plays posted goals in the run. To tie the game at one, Mike Bartlett scored his seventh goal of the season with one minute left in the first period.

To open the second period, Todd Richardson put the Lakers ahead with his first goal of the season at the 12:31 minute mark. Tyler Burton, Jordan Witt, Aaron Manzer and Tim Winslow all contributed goals in the remaining 12 minutes of play to pull away from the Lions.

Molloy rallied hard in the second half of the contest and outscored the Lakers 7-3 in the final thirty minutes of play. Witt and Bartlett both added another goal for the Lakers, while faceoff specialist Mike Thon scored his tenth goal of the season. Mercyhurst maintained possession for the final two minutes of play to pull out its third East Coast Conference win and earn the victory in its home opener.

The Lakers outshot the Lions 43-29 and picked up 39 groundballs to Molloy's 34. Mercyhurst applied outstanding pressure in its defensive ride, only allowing the Lions to complete 17 of their 29 clear attempts. The man-down defensive unit also only allowed Molloy to capitalize on one of its seven opportunities.

Offensively, Bartlett and Witt finished with two goals each while Richardson and Winslow each tallied one. Burton and Manzer also both added assists to their first half goals for two points a piece. Ryan Arnold, Trevor Rice and Michael Sciulli each dished out one assist in the win. Goalkeeper Jason LaShomb finished with 11 saves.

Mercyhurst will host Seton Hill Wednesday at 4 p.m.