Loyola University Maryland’s men’s lacrosse team,  who are placed at No. 3, bested the No. 14 Lehigh Mountain Hawks on Saturday afternoon by a score of 15-9, putting them ahead of the pack in the Patriot League standings at 5-0 (8-2 overall). Lehigh suffered their first conference loss, falling 5-1 and 7-4 overall.

Prior to the game, the Hounds recognized a dozen members of the Class of 2019 in a Senior Day celebration: Bobby Austin, Damase Bagnonon, P.J. Brown, Bryce Carrasco, Nick Cunningham, John Duffy, Richie Easterly, Lucas Jackson, Alex McGovern, Pat Spencer, Jacob Stover, and Paul Volante.

The game featured another offensive clinic by the Greyhounds with Spencer at the forefront of the attack. He hit double digit stats again on five goals and five assists, becoming the first Loyola player to ever score 10-plus points in back-to-back games. Aidan Olmstead ’21 and Chase Scanlan ’22 each scored a hat trick. Scanlan leads all Division 1 midfielders with 30 goals on the season.

Duffy scored a goal and an assist in a solid Senior Day performance, while Kevin Lindley ‘21, Riley Cox ‘20, and Peter Swindell ‘20 all contributed a goal. Stover added to his league-leading save total with 15 on the day, and Bailey Savio ’21 went 16-27 on face-offs with 11 ground balls.

The contest was rather one-sided to start, as Loyola jumped out to a commanding 9-0 lead before their opponent found the back of the net. Spencer and Scanlan opened with two unassisted goals at 13:14 and 11:14, respectively. Spencer then assisted Cox cutting through the middle to make the score 3-0. The Hounds would make it four on a man-up snipe from Duffy, but the scoring had only just begun.

Scanlan made Lehigh pay for a turnover by scoring his second unassisted goal at 5:41. On the next possession, Spencer bulldozed his defender on his way to the cage, added a sixth goal for his team, and flexed to the crowd.

The Mountain Hawks attacked Spencer with a double team to start the second quarter but to no avail. Spencer swam out of it and nailed a bounce shot for his third and the team’s seventh at 13:08. Savio won the next face-off, and moments later, Spencer found Olmstead for a step-down shot to make it eight. Olmstead would then create for himself, dodging and scoring to make the score 9-0 at 10:09.

Lehigh finally broke the surface when Tommy Schelling ‘22 found Tristan Rai ‘19 for a goal on the doorstep. Schelling facilitated the Lehigh offense, assisting Ryan Klose ‘20 to make it 9-2 at 6:30. Any momentum they salvaged was abruptly reclaimed by a gem of a goal from Spencer at 2:21 as he spun from his defender and destroyed the top right corner with a sidearm shot from the left wing. Lehigh would get the final say in the half as Mickey Fitzpatrick assisted Cole Kirst on a last-second goal.

Alex Tumminello ‘19 opened the second half scoring to make the score 10-4 as his team tried to chip away at the Loyola lead. A Stover save led to Lindley diving across the crease for his first goal at 11:16. At 8:46, Olmstead kept the possession alive by scooping up a rebound and finding Spencer, who scored his fifth to make it 12-4.

Rai and Cole would score back-to-back goals for Lehigh, creating a manageable deficit as the third quarter waned. But Duffy and Scanlan would add another tally to the Loyola lead before quarter’s end, as the senior found the freshman on a skip pass at 0:13 to make it 13-6 entering the final frame.

Olmstead started the fourth quarter with a highlight reel goal as he executed the hidden ball trick to perfection and fired a shot past the unsuspecting goalie to hike the lead back up to eight. Spencer hit 10 points when he passed to Swindell, who hit his mark on a 12-yard rocket to make it 15-6 with 13:35 left.

Comfortable with their lead, the Hounds emptied their bench and gave the spotlight to the seniors midway through the quarter. In the crowd, the Loyola faithful roared in approval as all the members of the class of 2019 saw some action.

Lehigh would score the final three goals of the day. Klose scored in a man-up situation, Jackson Monnin ‘19 scored his first goal of the season, and Andrew Eichelberger ‘20 brought us to the final score at 2:34. Loyola stifled a final Lehigh scoring attempt in the last seconds, and the game ended with a 15-9 score.

Feature Image Courtesy of Loyola Athletics