POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 28, 2017) — In the final non-conference game of the regular season, the Vassar College men's lacrosse team (7-2, 0-1 Liberty) powered past Bryn Athyn College (2-5, 0-0 NEAC) at Weinberg Field on Tuesday, 17-9.
Twelve Brewers found the back of the net and six dished out an assist, as 15 total chalked up at least a point. Liam Moriarty (2g, 1a) and Sam Houston-Read (3a) both picked up three points, while Michael Mullen, Matthew Lowery, James Thomas and Pat Gibbons all netted a pair of goals. Drew Adams and Austin Mello both added a score and an assist, while Dekker Stebel dished out a pair of helpers.
"We gave a lot of guys the opportunity to play tonight," coach Marc Graham said. "They've been working really hard in practice. They deserved it, but when we get those opportunities, we have to make sure that we stick with what we do that helps us be successful, and that's playing together as a team."
Lowery was productive across the board, winning 10 of his 11 face-offs on the way to picking up a game-best six ground balls. Both of his goals came in transition directly from face-off wins. TK Murphy was also solid, logging a game-high four created turnovers to go along with a pair of ground balls.
Matt Boyd earned the win for Vassar with three saves in the first half before Erik Mikelinich took over to make another three stops in the second. Meanwhile, Brad DePasquale took the loss for Bryn Athyn with 10 saves over the full time, as the Brewers outshot the Lions 42-19 overall and 27-15 in shots-on-goal.
Nolan Frame (3g, 1a), Jon Carr (3g) and Connor Buick (2a) led the Lions offensively.
Playing under the lights on a rainy night, the Brewers quickly asserted themselves, netting the first four goals of the game. Thomas and Lowery both scored in the first minute before Moriarty found Thomas for his eighth goal of the season and Adams fed Chris Billups for his 10th, 4-0.
The Lions scored the final goal of the first quarter, but again, the Brewers were quick on the attack to open the second, with Lowery and Moriarty scoring within the first two minutes.
Gibbons netted back-to-back goals to keep the momentum going before Brandon DeStasio and Michael Mullen capped the 6-0 run with scores themselves, 12-3.
The Lions netted their first goal of the second half before freshman Cole Landolt scored his first collegiate goal, thanks to a quick pass from Jonah Tuckman, who had juked a defender moments prior, 13-4.
Austin Mello found Michael Mullen to open the final frame before Bryn Athyn found bursts of energy. The Lions netted five goals in the final frame, with Liam Neville, Nick Diamond and Mello sprinkling scores throughout the period.
"We just have to work on the consistency, playing hard for 60 minutes," Graham said. "It gets tougher from here, so we're doing work and trying to get ready for RPI on Saturday."
Vassar welcomes Renssylaer Polytechnic Institute to Weinberg Field on Saturday, April 1 for a 6 p.m. tilt.
—VASSAR—
*Highlights are underlined throughout the text.
