ASTON, Pa. - The Neumann University men's lacrosse team was defeated in Atlantic East Conference action on Wednesday afternoon, falling by a score of 24-8 to visiting Cabrini University.
Drew Conlon (4 g, 1 a) and
Brett McLaughlin (4 a) did their best to keep the Knights in the game, but the Cavaliers were just too much on the day.
Rich Marshall (1 g, 2 a) and
Mike Kiley (2 g) also had multipoint games, while
Jake Marchiafava and
Mike McAleer combined for 15 saves between the pipes.
Neumann did it's best to keep pace with the 12th ranked Cavaliers early in Wednesday's contest. Using face-off wins to spring their attack, the visitors scored twice in the opening 1:33 to take an early 2-0 lead. Neumann answered right back though, as
Max Nice finished off a McLaughlin feed at the 10:04 mark to make it 2-1. Cabrini added a pair of goals in a minute span midway through the quarter to make it 4-1, but a Conlon marker again off a feed from McLaughlin brought the lead back to just two at 4-2 with 4:16 remaining in the opening quarter. However, the wheels would fall off for Neumann the rest of the first frame. Using a 12-0 edge in the face-off circle in the quarter, Cabrini blitzed the Knights for five late goals in short succession to take a 9-2 advantage after one.
The Cavaliers kept their foot on the gas in the second stanza, widening their lead to ten by the end of the period. Two Kiley tallies and a single goal from Conlon in the quarter kept the Knights in striking distance for awhile, but six more Cabrini markers in the frame blew the game wide open. The visitors punctuated the quarter with a goal as time expired to make it 15-5 heading to halftime.
Rich Marshall cut the lead to 15-6 two minutes into the third quarter, but Cabrini would respond with a 5-0 run to extend its lead to 20-6 late in the frame. A Conlon goal with 14 seconds remaining in the quarter made it 20-7, but Neumann still trailed by 13 heading to the fourth.
With the game in hand, the final period continued to favor the Cavaliers. Cabrini outscored the Knights by a count of 4-1 in the last 15 minutes, with the hosts' lone goal again coming from Conlon. Cabrini was able to take home the 24-8 victory to remain undefeated in Atlantic East Conference play.
Neumann (9-6, 2-2 Atlantic East) will hit the road for its final two games of the regular season. The Knights will travel to Marywood University this Saturday, April 23rd looking to bounce back with a win. Game-time is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
