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No. 3 Lakers lacrosse hands No. 10 Knights first loss March 3, 2007 ERIE, Pa.—Senior midfielder Drew Howell (St. Albert, Alberta, Canada) scored a hat trick for No. 10 nationally ranked St. Andrews Presbyterian College, but No. 3 Mercyhurst College prevailed 18-8 in NCAA Division II men’s lacrosse action Saturday afternoon. The Lakers remain undefeated at 3-0 while the Knights took their first loss of the season fall to 3-1. St. Andrews jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals by seniors Zach Mryncza (Baltimore, Md.) and Tony Ferreira (Youngsville, N.C.). However, Mercyhurst rattled off five straight goals to take the lead for good. D. Howell scored his first goal of the day in the final minute of the first quarter to cut the deficit to 5-3 after one. The Lakers extended their lead with the first three goals of the second quarter. Mryncza scored his second of the afternoon before Mercyhurst tallied two more scores. SAPC looked to be trailing by four at halftime after freshman Courtland Fudge (Severna Park, Md.) and Howell scored two late goals in the second stanza. However, Adam Mulherin scored with two seconds left to pull the Lakers lead to five, 11-6, at the intermission. Mercyhurst out scored the Knights 3-0 in the third quarter and 4-2 in the fourth to take the 10-goal victory. Senior Dalen Crouse (St. Albert, Alberta, Canada) and Howell scored St. Andrews’ only goals of the second half. Crouse and sophomore Cole Howell (St. Albert, Alberta, Canada) each had two assists for the Knights while senior Dan Hartzell (Lacombe, Alberta, Canada) and Mryncza both supplied one helper. Sophomore Nate Hull (Millersville, Md.) made a game-high 16 saves for SAPC as the Lakers held a 48-19 shot advantage. Mercyhurst also won 19-of-29 face-offs and collected more ground balls, 44-31. Bryon Linder led the Lakers offensively with five goals and two assists. Mulherin added four goals and two helpers. St. Andrews will visit No. 4 nationally ranked New York Institute of Technology (N.Y.I.T.) in Old Westbury, New York, on Friday at 3:00 p.m. |