SCRANTON, Pa.—The University of Scranton men's lacrosse team dominated the second half to pull away a 12-4 victory over the Merchant Marine Academy in Landmark Conference action Saturday afternoon at Fitzpatrick Field.
Senior attacker Kyle Frank (Glen Arm, Md./Boys' Latin) and junior attacker Taylor Nelson (Chester Springs, Pa./Downingtown East) led the Royals, now 7-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference, with four and three goals, respectively, and senior midfielder Mike Rufo (Broomall, Pa./Haverford School) finished with two goals and two assists.
Tied 2-2 midway through the second period, the Royal defense held the Mariners scoreless for the next 25 minutes while Nelson and Frank combined for five goals to ignite an 8-0 run to give Scranton a comfortable 10-2 lead with 12:55 left in the fourth period.
The Royals, who held a 46-29 advantage in shots and a 35-28 advantage in ground balls, also received a goal apiece from junior midfielder Dillon McInerney (Hawthorne, NJ/Bergen Catholic), senior midfielder Matt Glenn (Jamison, Pa./Central Bucks East), and freshman midfielder Tim O'Rourke (West Chester, Pa./St. Joseph's). Scranton also won 11 of the 19 face-offs, including eight by freshman Matt Finor (Churchville, Pa./Council Rock South).
Junior attacker Michael Ackerman (Malvern, Pa./Conestoga) and freshman attacker Geoff Harty (Chicago, Ill/Glenbrook South) led the Mariners, now 4-7 overall and 0-3 in the Landmark Conference, with two goals apiece.
Defensively, the Royal backline of senior John McShea (Stafford, Pa./St. Joseph's Preparatory), junior Tim Cleary (Shrewsbury, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy), sophomore Ryan Saraceni (Lansdale, Pa./LaSalle), and freshman Pat Farrell (Jamison, Pa./St. Joseph's Preparatory) pressured the Mariners into 30 turnovers, including 16 in the final 30 minutes of play. This quintet caused five turnovers and scooped up eight ground balls. Junior goalkeeper Ben Worthington (Jenkintown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) stopped eight of the 11 shots he faced in nearly 56 minutes of action and freshman Chris Sumpter (Crofton, Md./South River) made a save in the four minutes he played in goal.
Today's win keeps Scranton in contention for one of four Landmark Conference postseason tournament berths. The Royals are now tied for third place with Catholic University, one game behind Drew University and a game and a half behind Goucher College, with three league games remaining.
The Royals will return to action this Tuesday, April 10, against St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York, beginning at 4:00 p.m.