NEWBURGH, NY (March 23, 2016) — The Vassar College men's lacrosse team ran away in the second half for a solid 13-6 victory at Mount Saint Mary College on Wednesday.

With the win, the Brewers (3-3) handed the Knights (7-1) their first loss of the season.

"We came in knowing that Mount Saint Mary's was feeling pretty confident, they were 7-0 and scoring a ton of goals on the season," head coach Marc Graham said. "We knew that we had to go in a execute our game plan. It was pretty close early on, but I think as we started to settle down, we kind of took control of the game."

Noah Parson and James Thomas were both key, posting five points each in the victory. Parson potted four goals with one assist, while Thomas netted one goal with four assists just one game after scoring a hat trick in his collegiate debut. 

"(Thomas is) a really skilled and smart lacrosse player from a very well-coached team," Graham said. "He's a kid that played in the New York State Championship game last year, so he's been in big spots before."

The win was truly a team effort, as six other Brewers found the back of the net as well. Sam Houston-Read and Chris Billups registered two goals apiece, while Brandon DeStasio, Patrick Gibbons, Evan Burns and Dekker Stebel each scored one. 

Goalkeeper Brandon Crecco was sensational for the Brewers, blocking 16 shots while surrendering just six goals. 

"That's a pretty outstanding performance," Graham said. "While we were trying to get things together a little bit, he was really big. I think he went on a stretch of six or seven straight shots that he saved, and I think that was a big turning point."

Christopher Doerr took the loss for the Knights, allowing 13 goals and saving 15. 

Joseph Rizzotti paced Mount Saint Mary's with four points (two goals, two assists), while Tristan Earle, Dylan De Meo, Kenneth Gallagher and Danny Kugler each scored one goal. 

For every goal the Brewers scored in the first quarter, the Knights responded with one themselves. Parson scored the first two goals for Vassar, thanks to assists from Houston-Read and Thomas. Then Thomas dished out another help, this time for Houston-Read to score, before De Meo registered his 23rd goal of the season to knot it at 3-all. 

Mount Saint Mary's took its only advantage of the game, scoring the first goal of the second stanza, 4-3. But Vassar quickly responded.

The Brewers took advantage of the Knights getting into foul trouble, scoring two man-up goals in the second: Houston-Read found Billups for his first goal of the game, and Thomas passed to Parson for his third. 

"We were really clicking today on the extra-man," said Graham, whose team went 5-of-7 in extra-man opportunities. "A big thing about our man-up is the goals come from everybody. All six guys out there have the ability to score, and that makes them really dangerous."

Vassar remained on cruise control, scoring the next five goals over three periods. Gibbons notched his third goal of the season with help from Drew Adams in the second, 6-4, Parson picked up his 14th goal of the season later in the period, 7-4, and DeStasio secured his sixth goal of the season with five seconds remaining in the third, 8-4. 

Thomas opened the final frame with a man-up goal, assisted by Stebel, and Burns cushioned the Brewer lead with a goal two minutes later, 10-4. Rizzotti halted a 7-0 scoring run by the Brewers with an unassisted goal for the Knights, but Vassar answered with two more, a Parson-to-Houston-Read goal and a Stebel-to-Billups man-up goal two minutes later. 

Gallagher cut the deficit in half, 12-6, with a goal for the Knights at the 4:12 mark. But with Thomas' help, Stebel scored another man-up goal to cap a strong outing for the Brewers. 

The Vassar men's lacrosse team kicks off Liberty League action against Skidmore College at Gordon Field in Poughkeepsie, NY. The game is set for Saturday, March 26 at 1 p.m.