GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. - The Neumann University men's lacrosse team got back into the conference win column on Wednesday afternoon, taking home an 11-7 victory at Gwynedd Mercy University in Atlantic East Conference play.
 
Drew Conlon was the first star of the game for the Knights, scoring three goals and adding two assists as he broke the 200-point barrier in his Neumann career. Kyle Daly was also excellent on the afternoon for the Knights with four goals, while Rich Marshall (1 g, 2 a) picked up three points. Jake Marchiafava was strong in goal, stopping 10 shots to earn his ninth win in net on the season.
 
Hoping to bounce back from a tough loss to Marymount this past weekend, Neumann started strongly in the pre-Easter break matinee. The Knights tallied twice to open the contest, finding goals from Daly and Emmett Wexler to make it 2-0 at the 5:33 mark of the first frame. With an assist on Daly's opener, Conlon became only the second player in program history to hit the 200 point mark in his career. He needs 15 more points to break the program's all-time points record of 218 set by Don Seeger.
 
Despite the two goal lead, the visitors were not able to build on their lead though, allowing the host Griffins to get back into the game late in the quarter. Gwynedd Mercy found the back of the net three unanswered times to close out the period with a 3-2 advantage.
 
The Knights righted the ship early in the second stanza, using a 5-0 run to get themselves some much needed breathing room at 7-3 with 6:14 left to play in the half. Daly and Conlon again carried Neumann during the blitz with two goals apiece in the run, while the visitors also received a goal from Sam Nice. The Griffins tried to get a bit of momentum back before halftime with a marker at the 2:20 mark to cut the lead to 7-4, but a man-down Marshall goal with just one second left to play in the half gave the Knights all the energy heading to the third quarter with the score 8-4.
 
Much like the first frame, Neumann would dominate early in the third with two more goals to start the period. Conlon and Daly were again the catalysts, each scoring before Gwynedd Mercy started a run of its own to close the quarter. The Griffins again saved their best play for late in the frame, recording three goals in the final 2:10 of the period to make things interesting at 10-7 heading to the fourth.
 
The Neumann defense locked things down the rest of the way. Marchiafava was only required to make two fourth quarter saves as the Knights were able to protect the three goal advantage. The visitors would be the only team to score in the period, as Max Nice buried a ball past the Griffin goaltender to give Neumann a comfortable lead at 11-7 with 10:22 remaining. Gwynedd Mercy fired 12 shots towards the visiting goal, but none would find the back of the net, as the game finished 11-7 in favor of the Knights.
 
Neumann (9-5, 2-1 Atlantic East) will have a week off before playing host to No. 14 Cabrini University on Wednesday, April 20th. Game-time is scheduled for 4:00 PM.