MEADVILLE, Pa. (Apr. 2)- The Saint Vincent men's lacrosse team earned a 9-3 Presidents Athletic Conference victory on the road in a defensive battle at Allegheny on Wednesday night.

The Bearcats (5-5, 2-0 PAC) shut out the Gators (4-6, 1-1 PAC) in the first half, while Saint Vincent scored five goals to hold a 5-0 lead. SVC outscored the Gators 4-3 in the second half to down Allegheny in a rematch of last year's PAC Semifinals.

As a team, Saint Vincent caused 11 turnovers with nine different players recording at least one CT.  Cam Herring and Colton Baker were solid for the Saint Vincent defense, causing two turnovers each, while Herring scooped up four ground balls and Baker picked up three. Garrett Ritts was big for Saint Vincent as well, getting the win in net, making eight saves, while allowing just three goals.

Offensively, Liam McCall and Justin Wodarek led SVC with three points each, scoring two goals, while dishing out an assist as well. Isaiah Francis and Ryan Rosenberger both added a goal and assist each, while Jonathan Nagy scored two goals in the win. Jacob Crumling also scored once for SVC. Brady Beard was a strong 10-16 in faceoffs, while also scooping up six ground balls. 

It was an offensive struggle in the first quarter as just one total goal was scored between the two teams. After a scoreless opening nine minutes, McCall put in the lone goal of the quarter on an assist from Francis to put the Bearcats up 1-0 going into the second quarter.

The Saint Vincent defense remained strong, shutting out the Gators in the second quarter, while they added four goals of their own. Francis and Wodarek scored first, before Nagy added back-to-back goals at the end of the half to put Saint Vincent up 5-0 going into the break.

Out of the half, the Gators attempted to come back. Allegheny scored the first two goals of the half to cut the lead to 5-2. However, Saint Vincent responded in a big way. SVC scored the next four goals in a row that spanned between the third and fourth quarters. Crumling scored with a man up, followed by goals from Wodarek, McCall, and Rosenberger to put the Bearcats up 9-2. 

Allegheny added another goal in the fourth, but the Saint Vincent defense held strong to secure the important PAC road victory.

Saint Vincent out shot Allegheny by a large 49-25 margin. SVC was a perfect 24-24 on clears, while they won faceoffs by a 10-6 clip. The Bearcats limited Allegheny to go just 1-6 on extra man opportunities.

The Bearcats will return to action on Saturday, April 5 with a home matchup against Bethany. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at UPMC Field on Saturday night.