HUNTINGDON, Pa. (Feb. 23) – The Saint Vincent men's lacrosse team showcased a balanced offense and an opportunistic defense to earn a 15-4 win at Juniata College in the Bearcats' 2022 season-opener.
 
Eight different players registered at least one goal for the Bearcats (1-0), led by a four-goal, two-assist effort from Caleb Hawkins, while SVC out-shot the Eagles 53-24 and forced 23 turnovers.
 
The Bearcats wasted little time in taking the lead, as Jordan Billet scored his team's first goal of the season, assisted by Matthew Cassidy, just 3:27 into play. Hawkins would then score two goals in a three-minute span, both assisted by Tyler Condrasky, to give SVC a 3-0 lead at the close of the first quarter. Over the first 15 minutes, SVC out-shot Juniata 16-2.
 
Saint Vincent continued to roll in the second quarter, scoring four more unanswered goals in the first eight minutes, with two from Cassidy and one apiece from Condrasky and Andrew Coholich, to go up 7-0. Juniata finally found the scoreboard late in the second quarter, scoring twice in the final four minutes, as SVC took a 7-2 lead into the intermission.
 
Thanks to rookie Jacob Crumling, the Bearcats continued to extend their lead throughout the third quarter. Making his collegiate debut, Crumling scored three straight goals in a five-minute span to extend the Bearcat lead to 10-2 with just over five minutes left in the quarter.
 
The Bearcats would then put the game away by out-scoring the Eagles 5-1 over the final quarter, with two goals from Hawkins and one apiece from Billet, Alec Richard and Justin Wodarek, to cruse to the double-digit win.
 
In all, six different SVC players registered at least two points, with Condrasky totaling four (2G, 2A), Coholic (1G, 2A) and Crumling (3G) three apiece, and Cassidy (1G, 1A), Bilet (2G) and Richard (1G, 1A) all finishing with two points.
 
RJ Kenna led the SVC defense with six caused turnovers, with Hawkins and Benjamin Wohlin each forcing two. Cassidy gathered a game-high six ground balls, with Hawkins adding five and Kenna and Brady Beard four apiece.
 
Three different players saw time in goal for SVC, with Noah Sperling and Nick Carter each finishing with three saves and Colby Missel two.
 
The Bearcats will be back on the road when they return to action on Saturday, Feb. 26, taking on the University of Mount Union beginning at 4 p.m.