ASTON, Pa. - The Neumann University men's lacrosse team opened up conference play by picking up its first ever Atlantic East win on Wednesday afternoon, taking home a 15-11 victory over rival Immaculata University.

Colin Blake paced the Knights on the day with six points (5 g, 1 a), while Drew Conlon (3 g, 1 a) and Rich Marshall (2 g, 1 a) were also stellar. Brendan Risley was a rock in goal for Neumann with 11 saves and the duo of Jack Newswanger and Kyle Daly combined to win 25 out of 29 face-offs on the afternoon.

Being the only team in the conference that had not played an Atlantic East game, Neumann was eager to get league play started. The Knights scored three of the four first quarter goals recorded and took a 3-1 lead after one period of play. Two early goals from Chris Augustine and Drew Conlon put the hosts up a pair, then after an Immaculata tally cut their lead in half, the Knights received the first of five Blake tallies at the 4:56 mark to give the team a two-goal cushion.

The Mighty Macs would have the better of the second stanza though. After an early Neumann goal from Eric Conlon to make it 4-1, the visitors would tally four of the next five markers in the frame to level the contest at five apiece. Immaculata used a three goal sport over a two minute span to level the contest up at four, before the teams traded late goals in the quarter. Marshall made it 5-4 Knights with 3:29 left in the half, but a Mighty Mac goal with under a minute remaining sent the game to halftime level at 5-5.

Immaculata took an early third quarter lead at the 10:25 mark, but it would be the last time the visitors held an advantage. The Knights ripped off five unanswered goals midway through the frame thanks to a sensational run of play from Blake. The junior attacker found the back of the net three times during the rally and also fished out an assist as Neumann jumped back in front by a count of 10-6. The Mighty Macs cut into the four goal lead with a pair of goals to make it 10-8, but Blake put the finishing touch on his outstanding quarter with a man-down goal with 1:19 left in the period to put the hosts up 11-8 heading to the fourth.

Despite the three goal deficit, Immaculata hung in the contest and kept things close throughout the fourth quarter. The Mighty Macs scored the first goal of the frame to get back to within two tallies, but that was as close as they would get. A pair of Max Nice markers midway through the period paired with goals from Brett McLaughlin and Drew Conlon helped keep the visitors at bay and seal the program's first-ever Atlantic East Conference win.

Neumann (5-4, 1-0 Atlantic East) will put its three game winning streak on the line Saturday, April 6th when the team heads to perennial conference power Cabrini University. Game-time for the Atlantic East showdown is scheduled for 1:00 PM.