LATROBE, Pa. (March 21) – The Saint Vincent College men's lacrosse team earned an 11-10 victory over Muskingum University on Saturday afternoon at UPMC Field.
 
With the win, the Bearcats improved to 4-4 overall.
 
Saint Vincent got off to a fast start, opening the scoring just 3:18 into the contest when Owen Rogers found the back of the net off an assist from Connor Smith. Just five seconds later, Jonathan Nagy scored off a feed from Rogers to make it 2-0.
 
Muskingum answered with three straight goals to take a 3-2 lead, but the Bearcats responded before the end of the quarter. Nagy tied the game at 3-3 off an assist from Neal Ritchie, then scored again 10 seconds later on another helper from Rogers to put Saint Vincent back in front.
 
Reed Hunt capped the first-quarter scoring with 1:33 left off an assist from Ritchie, giving the Bearcats a 5-3 lead after one.
 
The Muskies rallied early in the second quarter, scoring twice to even the game at 5-5. Saint Vincent answered with a three-goal burst, starting with an unassisted tally from Ritchie at the 7:12 mark.
 
Nagy followed with his fourth goal of the day off a pass from Rogers, and Mason Krabbe added an unassisted score 12 seconds later to give the Bearcats an 8-5 advantage. Muskingum, however, closed the half with three unanswered goals, including an extra-man score with 1:26 remaining, to send the game into halftime tied 8-8.
 
Saint Vincent regained the lead early in the third quarter when Max Radcliffe scored off an assist from Rogers at 14:36, but Muskingum answered with back-to-back goals to move in front 10-9.
 
The Bearcats pulled even late in the period on Ritchie's second unassisted goal of the game with 1:22 left in the quarter. In the fourth, Hunt scored the game-winner at the 12:04 mark off an assist from Ritchie, and the Bearcat defense made the one-goal lead stand the rest of the way. Muskingum was held scoreless over the final 15 minutes.
 
Nagy led Saint Vincent offensively with four goals, while Hunt and Ritchie each scored twice. Rogers totaled one goal and four assists for a five-point afternoon, while Ritchie also finished with five points on two goals and three assists. Krabbe and Radcliffe each added a goal in the victory.
 
As a team, Saint Vincent outshot Muskingum 55-38 and held edges in shots on goal (26-22), ground balls (35-31) and faceoffs (13-11). Krabbe went 12-for-21 in faceoffs and collected a team-high eight ground balls, while Garrett Ritts made 12 saves in goal to earn the win.
 
Rogers added three ground balls, and both Cam Herring and Tyler Harpst finished with multiple caused turnovers.
 
Saint Vincent will return to action on Wednesday, March 25, when the Bearcats host Franciscan. The game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at UPMC Field.