LATROBE, Pa. (March 2) – The Saint Vincent men's lacrosse team dropped its 2024 home-opener by a 13-8 score to Wittenberg University at a rainy UPMC Field.
 
After the Bearcats (0-3) tied the game early on in the third quarter, the visiting Tigers (1-0) scored six unanswered goals and SVC was unable to recover.
 
Jordan Billet led Saint Vincent with four points, on two goals and two assists, while Carter Haid also scored twice. Jacob Crumling and Liam McCall each scored one goal with one assist, while Caleb Hawkins and Tyler Harpst scored one goal apiece.
 
Defensively, Saint Vincent goalie Garrett Ritts made 13 saves, while Benjamin Wohlin had three caused turnovers and AJ Bricker two.
 
Wohlin and Colin Cooper shared the SVC team lead with five ground balls apiece, with Ritts, McCall, and RJ Kenna each collecting three.
 
Wittenberg jumped out to a 4-0 lead 10 minutes into the first quarter, before Hawkins scored a man-up goal with 1:26 left in the quarter, assisted by Billet, to put SVC on the board.

The Tigers would eventually take a 5-1 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Bearcats took control, outscoring the visitors 4-1 in the second frame on goals from Harpst, McCall, Billet, and Haid, to close the gap to 6-5 at the intermission.
 
The Bearcats tied the game at 6-6 on Billet's goal, assisted by McCall, five minutes into the third period, but the Tigers stormed back to score five goals over the final eight minutes of the quarter to open up an 11-6 lead.
 
The Tigers again scored midway through the fourth quarter to make it 12-6. Crumling and Haid scored the next two goals to make it 12-8, but the margin proved too large to overcome, and the Tigers scored an insurance tally with inside a minute left to account for the final score.
 
The game saw a combined 21 penalties called, with SVC going 2-for-10 on man-up chances, and Wittenberg 2-for-11.
 
Wittenberg was led on the scoresheet by Dillon McKeigue, who tallied four goals and one assist, and Nathan Brown, who scored three goals with three helpers. Tiger goalie Chase Singleton made 13 saves in the win.
 
The Bearcats will now go back on the road, traveling to Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday, March 6, for a 7 p.m non-conference bout.