The men’s lacrosse team improved its record to 4-4 overall this season, including a 1-1 mark in the MAAC, with consecutive wins over NJIT and Siena this past week.
MU first took down the Highlanders of NJIT 6-3 on Tuesday, March 17 in Newark. Six different Hawks scored goals for the game, and senior goalkeeper Garrett Conaway saved three of six shots to earn his third win of the season. With the loss NJIT fell to 0-6 for the year.
Trailing by one with fewer than two minutes to play in the first period MU senior John Castellano found the back of the net and tied the game at one with his first career goal. The game stayed even at one over the next 13 plus minutes of play before sophomore Eric Berger scored an unassisted goal to give the Hawks the lead with only 3:07 remaining before halftime.
Berger’s goal kick started an offensive explosion as NJIT’s Joe Lomeli netted his second goal of the game just 11 seconds later to tie the game back up. Less than a minute later, however, the Hawks found themselves back in front when senior Ryan Schwartz took a pass from teammate Zak Reed and got it past the keeper for his first goal on the year.
With just two seconds left to play in the first half the Hawks recorded their second consecutive goal when freshman Bryce Wasserman scored his team leading ninth goal of the season. The score gave MU a 4-2 lead as both teams headed into the locker rooms.
The Hawks continued their hot play in the second half as they extended their scoring streak to four consecutive goals. Sophomore Zack Schleicher first found the back of the net with just under four minutes remaining in the third period to move MU’s lead to 5-2. Just 40 seconds later senior Zach Johannes scored MU’s sixth goal of the game to increase the lead to four off of an assist from Schleicher.
The Highlanders managed to cut the lead to three in the fourth period, but never mounted a serious comeback and the Hawks held on to the 6-3 victory.
“It certainly wasn’t pretty tonight,” said Head Coach Brian Fisher after the game. “But I am proud of the effort and glad that we found a way to get the job done. While we still have a lot of things to clean up, I loved that we played with a lot of energy and kept pressure on them throughout the game.”
MU pushed its winning streak to two four days later with a come from behind victory over defending MAAC champion Siena. The victory was MU’s first ever win in MAAC play.
Despite being outshot 34-28 by the Saints, the Hawks were able to come away with the win behind the strong play of Conaway. The senior goalie recorded thirteen saves on the game.
After falling behind early, Schwartz tied the game at one with thirteen minutes left to play in the first period. Unfortunately, for the Hawks, Siena responded with two goals in the second period to take a 3-1 halftime lead.
As the second half opened the Hawks seized momentum and wasted no time getting the game back even. Sophomore Chris Daly opened up the scoring at the 14:52 mark to bring MU back within one, and just over four minutes later Schwartz scored his second goal of the game to knot the game a three.
Siena was able to bounce back, however, and with seven and a half minutes left in the third period the Saints regained the lead. It appeared that MU would head into the fourth and final period down a goal, but with only one second to go in the third Berger tied the game at four off of an assist from Wasserman.
The game remained tied for nearly the entirety of the fourth period, and it appeared that the game would be headed for overtime. However, with 1:13 remaining in the contest, Berger scored his second straight goal, and fourth of the season, to give the Hawks a 5-4 lead.
Siena was unable to push across the equalizer over the last minute of play and MU held onto the one point victory.
“I was proud of the effort today because it took grit and determination for us to get the job done,” said Fisher. “Coming out of halftime, we knew if we cleaned things up, we would give ourselves a chance to win in the fourth quarter. I am excited we were able to make the plays we needed at the end, and come out with a win.”
On Tuesday, March 24, MU fell to the Lehigh Mountain Hawks with a final score of 16-5 at Monmouth Stadium. The Hawks fell short during the first half as Lehigh led 9-2, with freshman Bryce Wasserman and senior John Castellano scoring MU’s only goals.
MU was unable to overcome the big first half deficit despite contributions from senior Zach Johannes, sophomore Kevin Murphy, and a first career goal from sophomore Hunter Rainis.
The Hawks will next travel to Easton, PA to play against Lafayette on Tuesday, March 31 in Fisher Stadium. In their last encounter with Lafayette, MU lost on their home turf, 9-5.
PHOTO COURTESY of MU Athletics
