MARIETTA, Ohio (March 19) – The Saint Vincent men's lacrosse team used a big second half to defeat Marietta 10-6 and run its winning streak to five games.
Trailing 5-4 at halftime, the Bearcats (5-0) outscored the Pioneers (2-5) 6-1 over the final 30 minutes.
Jordan Billet paced Saint Vincent with five points, on four goals and one assist, as three of his goals came in the decisive second half.
Caleb Hawkins recorded a four-point game, on three goals and one assist, while
Matthew Cassidy scored a goal and dished two assists.
Andrew Coholich and
Alec Richard also added goals for the Bearcats.
Noah Sperling made 11 saves to earn the win in goal, while
Brady Beard gathered a team-high five ground balls and
Benjamin Wohlin snared four while also causing two turnovers.
Coholich got the scoring started early for SVC with an unassisted tally just 3:36 into play, but the Pioneers scored two unanswered goals in a four-minute span to take a 2-1 lead. Hawkins and Billet answered with goals 70 seconds apart to push SVC back in front 3-2, before Marietta scored with just over a minute left in the opening quarter to forge a tie.
Hawkins gave the Bearcats a 4-3 lead, assisted by Cassidy, with 11:14 to go in the half, but the final two goals of the half belonged to the Pioneers, who took a 5-4 lead into the locker room.
The two teams shared a number of scoreless possessions over the opening stages of the third quarter, before SVC regained the lead with a pair of quick strikes, as Billet and Richard scored just 22 seconds apart to push the Bearcats in front 6-5. Forty-two seconds after the Pioneers tied it with 4:31 left, Billet completed the hat trick, assisted by Cassidy, to give the lead back to the Bearcats, 7-6. Hawkins netted Saint Vincent's fourth goal of the quarter with 1:34 left to give his squad a two-goal lead heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
While the Bearcat defense continued to keep the Pioneers at bay throughout the fourth quarter, the team's offense added some insurance, with a man-up goal from Cassidy with 6:45 left pushing the lead to 9-6, before Billet sealed the win with the final goal of the night with 2:57 left in regulation.
The 5-0 start to the season is Saint Vincent's best since the 2005 squad won its first six games en route to an 11-1 overall final record.
The Bearcats will now have a 10-day layoff before returning to action on Tuesday, March 29, when they travel to northwestern Pennsylvania to take on future Presidents' Athletic Conference foe Allegheny College at 7 p.m.
