GREENVILLE, Pa. (Feb. 10) – The Saint Vincent men's lacrosse team delivered a commanding performance Tuesday evening, cruising to a 28–2 Presidents' Athletic Conference victory over Thiel College at the Rissell-Schreyer Dome in Greenville.
With the win, the Bearcats improve to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in PAC play, while Thiel falls to 0-1 and 0-1 in league action.
Saint Vincent jumped out quickly and never looked back, outscoring the Tomcats in every quarter. The Bearcats led 8–0 after the first period and extended their advantage with a flurry of goals in the second and third quarters before putting the contest away in the fourth.
The SVC offense was paced by
Connor Smith, who scored a team-high 6 goals and added 2 assists, dominating around the cage and on transition opportunities.
Jonathan Nagy tallied 4 goals and an assist, and
Max Radcliffe also scored 4 goals while creating offense from the midfield.
Liam McCall chipped in 3 goals, and
Gavin Smallwood added 3 goals as part of a balanced attack that featured scoring from across the lineup.
Additional contributors included
Luca Blevins (2 goals),
Neal Ritchie (2) and
Calvin Rose (2), while
Cole Vollero and
Ryan Rosenberger each recorded a goal in Saint Vincent's offensive outburst. Rose also added 12 ground balls and two caused turnovers for the Bearcats as well.
Goalie
Garrett Ritts picked up the win in net, playing the first half.
Tyler Friend and
Jack Zayas both played a quarter each, making two saves each.
Isaiah Francis recorded five ground balls and four caused turnovers.
Thiel's scoring came from Logan Millie and Joey King, who each notched a goal against an SVC defense that held the Tomcats to just 9 total shots with only 6 on goal. Saint Vincent's defense forced turnovers and controlled ground balls throughout, limiting Thiel's offensive opportunities.
Saint Vincent outshot the Tomcats by a 76-9 margin, including 49-6 in shots on goal. SVC forced 38 turnovers, while committing just 12 of their own.
Ground balls were 53-36 in favor of SVC and the Bearcats were also 5-9 on extra man opportunities.
The Bearcats return to action on Saturday, February 14 with a PAC matchup against Westminster in SVC's home opener. The game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at UPMC Field.
