SCRANTON, Pa. - Third-seeded Catholic men's lacrosse traveled to Weiss Field to take on the second-seeded Scranton Royals on Wednesday night, falling 13-4 to conclude its season. The Cardinals close out the 2023 season with a final record of 6-10. 

Scranton used a seven-goal run in the first and second periods to jump ahead 7-1 at halftime before finishing out a 13-4 victory. 

Senior first-team All-Landmark goalkeeper Nic Pezone matched Scranton goalie Declan Allen's 11 saves. Still, Scranton put 24 shots on goal to Catholic's 15 despite the Cardinals holding a 42-37 edge in total shots. 

A central sticking point entering the contest, Cooper DiCicco was dominant in the face-off circle for Catholic, winning 15 of the 19 face-offs he took and picking up 11 ground balls, but the Cardinals weren't able to consistently turn possession into successful offense. 

Mike Mulligan scored a pair of goals for Catholic in the contest, including the first goal of the contest 4:32 into the first period. Mulligan also scored Catholic's final goal with 5:17 remaining in the fourth, making it a 12-4 game. Mulligan finishes the year with 13 goals. 

Fitz McLaughlin and Jack Micco each scored one goal for Catholic with McLaughlin finishing the season with a team-high 39 goals. Micco's goal was his third of the season. 

Mike Tayloe added picked up three ground balls for Catholic while fellow all-conference selection Sam Pikul added two ground balls and one caused turnover. Joe Boyle and Mitchell Kozak each scored three goals for Catholic. 

Scranton and Elizabethtown will play for the Landmark Conference Championship on Saturday.