Loyola’s men’s lacrosse team, ranked at No. 6 in the NCAA put on an offensive clinic Saturday afternoon, stifling the visiting Colgate Raiders 21-7. The win brings the Hounds to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in the Patriot League, and they have yet to be defeated at Ridley Athletic Complex. Colgate falls 1-3 in league play and 3-6 overall.

Pat Spencer ’19 and Kevin Lindley ’21 both hit double figures in points as they continue to lead Loyola’s potent offense. Spencer scored two goals and eight assists, while Lindley did the opposite with a career-high eight goals and two assists. Aidan Olmstead ’21 contributed two goals to the starting attack unit’s scoring total.

Chase Scanlan ’22 scored three goals and an assist, and John Duffy ’19 scored twice from the midfield. Dan Wigley ’21 and Bobby Austin ’19 each earned their first points of the season, as Austin scored a goal and Wigley went for a hat trick and an assist. Peter Swindell ‘20, PJ Brown ‘19, Jack Raba ‘22, and Bailey Savio ’21 each had an assist.

Savio had a busy day at the faceoff X, going 14-31 and scooping seven ground balls. Jacob Stover ‘19 made 13 saves in goal, and Sam Shafer ’21 came in to make five saves.

The home team opened the game on a 5-0 run, as Lindley scored less than a minute in, drew a flag, then scored a man-up goal on the next possession. Duffy took a feed from Spencer to make it 3-0 at 8:47, and just six seconds later Savio won the faceoff forward, dished it to Lindley, and suddenly it was 4-0 and Lindley had himself a hat trick. Colgate wasn’t helping themselves, as they gave Loyola another man-up opportunity minutes later. The Hounds capitalized again, as Spencer found Lindley for an easy goal.

Colgate ended the run with a goal from James Caddigan at 4:01, which was matched by Spencer’s first tally a minute later. The visitors regained some momentum at the quarter’s end, as Duncan Hoskinson scored an EMO goal and Bobby Goggin buried a shot with two seconds left.

The Hounds came out firing once again in the second quarter, going on a 6-0 tear. Chase Scanlan and Dan Wigley scored their first goals of the day early on, and Lindley scored his fifth at 9:58. Lindley then became the distributor, finding Spencer and Scanlan for two quick goals, the first coming at 7:50 and the second just nine ticks later. He quickly reverted to his scoring ways, as he finished his sixth goal on a fast break pass from Swindell at 7:30 to make it 12-3.

The Raiders found some life, as Griffin Brown scored on an extra-man opportunity and Hoskinson scored his second goal at 3:14. But Loyola would keep the offensive pressure on, as Spencer found Wigley for his second goal of the day. Matt Donavan responded for his first goal, but Spencer and Lindley would have the last laugh, as they connected with ten seconds left to make it 14-6.

The Hounds resumed their offensive onslaught in the third quarter, slowly picking away at their opponent’s defense. Olmstead got it going with a lefty rip at 13:56. Duffy scored his second goal unassisted a few minutes later, then Lindley scored his eighth at 7:42 on a feed from Wigley, giving him 40 goals on the year. Scanlan scored unassisted for his second, then Olmstead made it 19-6 before quarter’s end on a feed from Spencer.

The Hounds emptied their bench in the fourth quarter, but not before Wigley scored his third goal at 13:35. Raba found Austin on a skip pass, who buried the outside shot at 11:31 to wrap up Loyola’s scoring. Ryan Decker scored his first goal of the season and the final goal of the day for Colgate at 7:29, making the final 21-7.

Loyola’s offense continues to roll through Patriot League competition, averaging 17.5 goals through four games. They will face their toughest conference opponent yet when No. 15 Lehigh, also 4-0 in conference play, comes to Ridley next Saturday April 6. Face off is at 11:00 a.m.

Feature Image Courtesy of Loyola Athletics