OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Stevenson Men's Lacrosse hosted Elizabethtown College tonight at Mustang Stadium. After a slow first quarter, Stevenson stepped on the gas to rack up 15 more goals. The Mustangs came away with a 16-4 win in their penultimate non-conference contest. Tonight's goal total marks the Mustangs' second highest to date this season, while the mere four goals against rank lowest.
Elizabethtown held strong defensively in the first quarter as Stevenson poured on 14 shots. The Blue Jays were able to hold the Mustangs off until the final two minutes of the quarter when junior Jered Monar found the back of the net.
Monar's goal was enough to kickstart the Mustangs' offense as they proceeded to score six second-quarter goals. Starting off the scoring spree was junior Robbie Vanderklugt for his first goal of the season. He was assisted by classmate Jack Scaliti, who turned around and scored his first goal of the night just 25 seconds later. First year Darrell Curtis scored while the Mustangs had the man advantage thanks to a set up by junior Grant Zick before Scaliti and Monar combined for the Mustangs' fifth goal.
The Jays finally got on the board with just under four minutes remaining in the half. Before the quarter expired, Monar scored his second of the night via first year Gavin Gossen before senior Conor Halpin won the resulting face-off and raced against the clock to get Stevenson their seventh goal. Monar now totals eight points this season on five goals and three assists.
The Mustangs maintained their momentum heading into the third, which would end with seven goals for the hosts. Scaliti scored three minutes in, followed by senior Andrew Searing for his first of three goals in the quarter. Junior Graeme McCrory scored his third goal of the season before Darrell Curtis tucked away his second of the night, giving classmate Ayden Fadrowski his first career point on the assist. The third quarter rally was punctuated by Halpin's second goal of the evening. Curtis' two goals tonight bring his season total to ten while Halpin sits at five.
In the fourth quarter, Racich scored his team-leading 19th goal of the year while Scaliti assisted for his 16th point. Searing netted his 12th goal on the year with one minute to spare.
Halpin went 17-4 on face-offs, collecting a game-high 12 ground balls in the process. He was followed by defensemen Ryan Quinn and Ed Masterson with six apiece. In net, graduate student Justin Scorese made 12 saves and added four ground balls in the win.
The Mustangs improve to 4-5 overall heading into their final non-conference matchup scheduled for next Wednesday, April 3rd. Stevenson hosts (RV) Franklin and Marshall College at 7 p.m. at Mustang Stadium.
