No. 20 Lafayette Keeps Rolling; Beats Wagner
from press release
EASTON, Pa. - The No. 20-ranked Lafayette men's
lacrosse team continued its early season perfection on Saturday
afternoon, turning in a workmanlike 15-4 victory over Wagner at
Rappolt Field.
The Leopards were led by Stefan Bauer's five goals, along with
three apiece from junior Tom Perini and senior Chris Ahern.
Lafayette never trailed, as Ahern opened the scoring at the 12:21
mark of the first quarter, using a Jon Marcek assist to give the
Leopards a 1-0 lead.
Perini grabbed an assist from senior co-captain Steve Serling and
then found Bauer with 5:41 left in the opening quarter as the
Leopards quickly jumped out to a 3-0 advantage.
Perini, who was named to the Preseason Tewaaraton Watch List this
past week, then closed the first quarter scoring on an unassisted
tally with 4:43 left.
After Wagner got on the board to open the second period, a pair of
seniors got together when co-captain Matt Mersky found Kevin Dunbar
in front of the goal for his third goal of the year. Bauer put home
his second goal of the day, this time off an assist from Cesar
Munoz and the Leopards were coasting into a 6-1 lead with 7:28
remaining in the half.
The Seahawks cut the Leopard lead to four (6-2) before Ahern and
Mersky pushed the advantage back to six, as Lafayette took a 8-2
lead into intermission.
The third quarter put the contest in doubt, as the Leopards
dominated the 15 minutes, outscoring Wagner 6-0 in the period. Two
goals from Bauer along with one each from Perini, Dunbar, Ahern and
Ryan Hansen gave Lafayette a 13-2 cushion going into the final
quarter.
A final goal from Bauer off an assist from sophomore Colin Serling
capped off the Leopard scoring, as head coach Terry Mangan used the
lead to gain valuable experience and keep his squad's legs fresh
for his roster going into next week's Patriot League opener.
The Leopards outshot Wagner 40-24. Senior Vinny DePasquale earned
the victory, totaling four saves on the afternoon in just over 38
minutes of work. Senior Jason Montoya and freshman Ed Stubits also
saw time between the pipes for the Leopards, with Stubits grabbing
three saves in the final quarter.
Lafayette was 14-for-23 on face-offs, with Munoz a stellar
13-for-18 on the afternoon.
Reigning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week Stewart Inman
paced the Leopards with six groundballs on the afternoon.
Lafayette now shifts its focus to a showdown with Navy on Friday
night. Face-off is set for 7 p.m. at Rappolt Field. The Mids
defeated Bucknell today 8-7 in overtime.
