Mens lacrosse defeat Robert Wesleyan 19-4

Zach Dumais, Opinion editor

The Mercyhurst men’s lacrosse team had a great showing on Saturday to defeat previously undefeated Roberts Wesleyan and move to 2-0. The game took place on March 13 in Rochester, NY and despite being the away team, Mercyhurst took no time in gaining an early lead.
Devin Pipher was able to get the Lakers a 1-0 lead just 35 seconds into the game. Three players from Roberts Wesleyan attempted to quickly answer this but were all denied by goalie Cole Pellicano. Pipher and Nathan Grenon each scored twice in the first quarter of play.
Mercyhurst never slowed down after this as the score was 5-0 by the end of the first quarter. Grenon continued the momentum for the Lakers into the second quarter by finishing off his hat trick. Caleb Kueber was able to get his first goal of the game from a Nicholas Mabe assist. Kueber ended up scoring multiple times in the second quarter. Caleb Kueber and Devin Pipher showed a great connection in the second quarter with each of them scoring off of each other’s assists.
Roberts Wesleyan was unable to score against goalie Cole Pellicano until there was only 2:46 remaining in the half. Mercyhurst went into the half with a comfortable 9-1 lead.
Mabe was able to kick things off for the Lakers in the second half which gave them a double-digit total. Gavin Ingalls made his scoring opportunity count after an assist from Michael Rossi. The lead quickly became an impressive 13-1 with 11:35 left in the third quarter. Scores from Jacob Emerson, Kueber, Johnson and Pipher with Tommy Angelicola made the score 17-2. The score resulted in a 17-2 lead for the Lakers after three quarters.
Mercyhurst gave Jason Pawlak, Brett Olney and Brendan Eyestone time in net for the fourth quarter. Mercyhurst sent some fresh players on the field who made the most of their opportunity, including Patrick Carozzi who scored off an assist from Quinn Simonson. Todd Redman was able to put the nail in the coffin by making the score 19-4 for the Lakers.
Roberts Wesleyan attempted to make a run in the final quarter with two goals but were unable to increase their score further. Mercyhurst continued to dominate the game and maintained the 19-4 score to the finish.
Mercyhurst made the most of their opportunities by cashing in on 19-35 shot attempts. Roberts Wesleyan only had 18/25 shots on goal while Mercyhurst had 31/35. The top scorers for the Lakers in this contest were Devin Pipher with four goals, Caleb Kueber with four goals, Nathon Grenon with three goals, and Bryce Johnson with two goals. Kueber and Johnson also contributed heavily to the team effort with five and three assists respectively. Cole Pellicano played extremely well in net also, making 10 saves which earned him a .833 save percentage.
The men’s lacrosse team will ride this momentum into their next game on Saturday, March 20th at 3 p.m. against Seton Hill University. Seton Hill is the Lakers biggest competitor in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference so it should be an exciting matchup.