SCRANTON, Pa. - The Neumann University men's lacrosse team could not get anything going in a Saturday afternoon Atlantic East Conference matchup versus Marywood University, falling by a score of 7-5.
 
Rich Marshall carried the offense on the day with a goal and two assists. Four other Knights added single tallies, while Jake Marchiafava made 12 saves in the loss.
 
Looking to strengthen its grip on a solid playoff seed, Neumann traveled north to Marywood for what would be a hard-fought defensive struggle. Neither team could get much going offensively early on, as just three goals would be scored in the first frame. The Pacers opened the scoring 1:56 into the contest to take an early 1-0 advantage, but the Knights responded with the final two goals of the period to gain their first lead of the day at 2-1. Marshall played a key role in both markers, scoring the first goal midway through the quarter and adding an assist on a Mike Kiley goal with just 17 seconds remaining in the period to give Neumann the lead after one.
 
Marywood equalized the matchup early in the second stanza, scoring 49 seconds into the frame to level things up at 2-2. The attacks would go silent after that though, as neither side did anything until late in the period. With the score still tied three minutes to halftime though, Max Nice finally broke the deadlock. The senior found the back of the net to send the game to halftime with the Knights holding a one-goal advantage at 3-2.
 
The third quarter saw the two teams go back and forth several times. For the third straight period, Marywood opened the scoring, this time beating Marchiafava just seven seconds into the half to tie things up at 3-3. Neumann fought right back though, regaining the lead 53 seconds later off a goal from Brett McLaughlin to make it 4-3. The see-saw battle continued as the two teams traded goals midway through the quarter to keep the Knights ahead by a score of 5-4 thanks to a goal from Emmett Wexler. However, the Pacers had an answer late in the period, scoring with 4:38 left in the frame to even the score at 5-5 heading to the fourth.
 
Neumann's offense stagnated even further in the final frame. Despite eight shots, including five on target, the Knights could not solve the Pacers' goaltender the rest of the day. Marywood then took full advantage, scoring twice in a three-minute to lead 7-5 with 8:53 to go in the game. The visitors did everything they could to find a way back into the contest, but they could not find the back of the net again as the game finished with the Pacers still holding a 7-5 edge.
 
Neumann (9-7, 2-3 Atlantic East) closes out its regular season on Wednesday, April 27th with a trip to Immaculata University. Game-time for the conference finale is scheduled for 4:00 PM.