VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The Neumann University men's lacrosse team opened its season in style on the road Saturday afternoon, picking up a hard-fought come from behind win by a score of 14-9 over Virginia Wesleyan University in non-conference action.
 
Drew Conlon (2 g, 1 a), Rich Marshall (1 g, 2 a) and Max Nice (2 g, 1 a) all recorded three point days, while Kyle Daly, Mike Kiley and Emmett Wexler all tallied twice. Brett McLaughlin (1 g) led the team with seven ground-balls and three caused turnovers and Jake Marchiafava made 10 saves in goal for the Knights. John McGrath also went 13-for-16 in face-offs in the win.
 
Things did not start well for Neumann on their long trip south, as a sluggish start resulted in a big deficit early. The Marlins raced out to a quick 4-0 lead just 5:41 into the contest, shocking the Knights and digging the visitors a big hole from which they'd need to climb out of. Neumann steadied themselves midway through the opening quarter though via one of their most reliable senior scorers in Drew Conlon, who scored at the 4:24 mark to make it 4-1. Wexler then cut the Marlin lead in half with under a minute to play in the quarter, sending the game to the second stanza  with the score 4-2.
 
The Knights moved even closer early in the second quarter, as Marshall scored just 2:44 into the frame to cut the lead to 4-3. The rest of the period would be quiet until a see-saw battle broke out late in the quarter as the teams traded goals back and forth. Virginia Wesleyan scored twice in the final five minutes, sandwiching a Kiley goal at the 3:42 mark to send the game to halftime with the hosts holding a 6-4 lead.
 
The back and forth nature of the matchup continued through most of the third quarter.  Neumann wasted no time equalizing the game, scoring twice through Daly and Kiley to tie the game at six apiece just 1:24 into the half. The Marlins jumped back on top a minute later, but Wexler's second goal of the day at the 12:13 mark again leveled the game at 7-7. Virginia Wesleyan retaliated back with a pair of goals two minutes apart to make it 9-7 with 9:37 left in the frame, but those markers would be the last highlights of the day for the Marlins. Marchiafava and a stellar Neumann defense completely shut down Virginia Wesleyan the rest of the contest, allowing the Knight offense to catapult the team into the lead for the first time. Sam Nice and Justice Brovero scored midway through the third to tie things up at 9-9, then Daly fired Neumann into the lead with just 30 seconds remaining in the quarter to give the visitors a 10-9 advantage moving to the fourth.
 
The Knights carried the late quarter momentum into the final frame, dominating it from start to finish. Buoyed again by staunch defending and excellent goaltending, Neumann continued to add to its lead early in the fourth thanks to a brother to brother connection. Sam Nice assisted on a goal by his brother Max at the 11:15 mark to give the visitors some breathing room at 11-9. The Knights then tacked on three more markers over the next three minutes to blow the game wide open. Conlon, Max Nice and Brett McLaughlin all scored in the three-goal blitz as Neumann opened up a five-goal advantage at 14-9 with 8:28 left to play. The score would stay that way until the final whistle, as the Knights finished the game by shutting out the Marlins entirely over the final 24:37 of the contest.
 
Neumann (1-0) will return to Aston for its home opener on Tuesday, February 22nd when the Knights play host to Delaware Valley University. Game-time is scheduled for 4:00 PM.