Washington- The Catholic University of America men's lacrosse team dominated their season opener against Bridgewater (Va.) on Saturday, taking a 15-7 win over the visiting Eagles at Cardinal Stadium.

The Cardinals got off to a quick start in the first quarter, as sophomore midfielder Ethan Rodriquez (Miami, Fla./ Belen Jesuit Prep) put the team on the board within the first three minutes of play. Rodriquez led the team with four goals on the day including back-to-back goals in the fourth quarter within one minute of each other to increase the Cardinal's massive lead.

Sophomore attacker Jack Oakes (Downingtown, Pa./ Bishop Shanahan) and fellow classmate midfielder Victor Licata (Towson, Md./ Loyola-Blakefield) scored three goals each. Freshman midfielder Jonathan Curran (Ridgefield, Conn./ Ridgefield) reeled in two goals, as well as sophomore attacker Tim Keith (King of Prussia, Pa./ Archbishop Carroll). In his debut as a Cardinal, freshman midfielder Andrew Christman (Floral Park, N.Y./ Chaminade) scored one goal to put the Cardinals at a solid 15 goals in the game.

"They were executing really well and listening to what the strategies are that we're trying to push towards them," said CUA Men's Lacrosse Head Coach Brooks Singer of the Cardinal offense. "They're shooting with effectiveness, so I believe our shots on goal were pretty good."

Catholic's offense responded well off the faceoffs, often scoring within minutes following the previous goals. With the score 2-0 in the first quarter, Licata came off the faceoff, picked up the groundball on the fly, and scored within 15 seconds from the start of the clock to put the Cardinals up 3-0. He performed similarly in the second quarter, scoring within one minute of Christman's previous goal to put the Cardinals up 6-1. Keith scored within one minute of an Oakes goal in the third, as well as Rodriquez off Curran's goal in this same quarter. Within one minute of play the Cardinals scored three goals; back-to-back Rodriquez, then Licata from 6:59 to 5:59 in the fourth quarter.

"I think that Victor [Licata] and Matt [Michalski] started out great, and wanted to just keep that rolling," said Singer of the faceoffs.

Bridgewater (Va.) stepped up their game the most in the third quarter, scoring three consecutive goals and clinching a six-goal deficit. However, the Cardinals did not panic. They remained focused and relaxed as they made smooth transitions and timely offensive plays. Catholic totaled 50 shots to Bridgewater's (Va.) 29, 34 of which were shots on goal. The Cardinals dominated the midfield with 42 groundball pickups in comparison to the Eagles' 18. Freshman midfielder Matt Michalski (Pasadena, Md./ Chesapeake) led the team with six groundballs, while his brother, senior defenseman Pat Michalski (Pasadena, Md./ Chesapeake), led the team with three caused turnovers.

Catholic junior goalie Harrison Holak (Doylestown, Pa./ Central Bucks East) started in goal for the Cardinals, totaling eight saves. Junior Erik Hyland (Huntingtown, Md./ Huntingtown) saw time in the goal during the fourth quarter, making one save. 

"I have a lot of faith in the goalie depth that we have," said Singer. "Harrison [Holak] has been playing just terrific and has been a great leader to the guys. And Erik [Hyland], we have a lot of confidence when he gets in there, too."

-CUA-