DELAWARE, Ohio (Feb. 18) – The Saint Vincent men's lacrosse team used a big fourth quarter to pull away for an 11-8 road win in its 2023 season-opener at Ohio Wesleyan.
Tied 7-7 at the end of the third quarter and 8-8 midway through the fourth, Saint Vincent (1-0) scored the game's final three goals, with
Jacob Visalli netting what proved to be the game-winner, to pick up its first ever win over the Battling Bishops in program history.
Caleb Hawkins led the Bearcats with five points, on three goals and two helper, while Visalli also found the net three times.
Jordan Billett (2 goals, 1 assist) and
Matthew Cassidy (1G, 1A) each recorded three points on the day, while
Justin Wodarek and
RJ Kenna each scored one goal apiece.
The Bearcats' balanced offense was complemented by an impressive defensive effort. Making his collegiate debut,
Garrett Ritts recorded 17 saves to earn the win in goal.
Brody McMahon led SVC with three caused turnovers and five ground balls, while
Max Schuler had two caused turnovers and four ground balls, and
Jacob Crumling two caused turnovers and three ground balls.
Ohio Wesleyan scored the game's first goal two minutes into a defense-heavy first half, before Kenna netted the Bearcats' first goal of the season, off of an assist from rookie
Jonathan Nagy, to tie it with 12:09 left in the quarter. Behind three Ritts saves, SVC kept OWU off the board for the remainder of the quarter, while Billet and Wodarek each scored in the final four minutes to give SVC a 3-1 lead after 15 minutes of play.
The Bishops cut it to 3-2 with a goal just 10 seconds into the second quarter, but the SVC defense would then clamp down, with Ritts making five saves and Schuler causing two turnovers over the next 10 minutes. Hawkins scored two goals in the final four minutes of the half to give SVC some insurance, before the Bishops beat the halftime buzzer with a goal to cut the deficit to 5-3 at the intermission.
The offense picked up in the third quarter, with Ohio Wesleyan making it a one-goal game with 13:36 left in the quarter. Visalli then scored twice in a 90-second span to open up a 7-4 lead, before the hosts closed the quarter with three goals in the final three minutes to tie the game at 7-all heading into the final quarter.
Billet's goal with 8:47 left in regulation gave the Bearcats an 8-7 lead, but OWU answered right back to tie it up with 6:53 to go. Less than a minute later, Visalli scored off of a Hawkins assist to put the Bearcats back in front, 9-8. Cassidy's first goal of the season upped the SVC lead to two goals with 4:42 remaining, before Hawkins sealed the victory with a man-up goal with 37 seconds left to account for the final 11-8 score.
Over the decisive final 15 minutes, Ritts made five saves, while the SVC defense successfully killed off a pair of OWU man-up opportunities.
The Bearcats will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 22, opening up their home slate with a 3 p.m. non-conference matchup against Juniata College at UPMC Field.
