WASHINGTON, D.C. - On a beautiful night in the nation's capital, Catholic men's lacrosse dominated the final 30 minutes to earn its second-straight victory, defeating Mary Washington 10-8. The Cardinals trailed 8-4 before ripping off six unanswered goals to come away victorious. 

Down 8-4 in the third after a Dave Votapek goal with 13:19 on the clock, Catholic proceeded to keep Mary Washington from scoring in the final 28 minutes to earn the comeback win. Catholic trimmed the gap to two goals heading into the final period, getting tallies from Mike Mulligan and Steven Dezelic in the third to make it an 8-6 game. Mulligan's goal came in a man-up situation for Catholic as he beat the keeper off a find from Cullen Lotz to make the score 8-5. Dezelic scored just over three minutes later with 6:21 left to play in the third, putting home his second of three goals. 

The fourth quarter proved to be all Cardinals as they outscored the Eagles 4-0. Liam O'Neil got on the score sheet for the first time in his career, grabbing a ground ball and scoring off a turnover to bring Catholic within one. With 10:59 left in the contest, Brady McMahon darted through the defense and beat the goalie to tie the game despite a man-down disadvantage for Catholic. Ninety seconds later, it was Fitz McLaughlin who scored the eventual game-winner, putting Catholic on top by a score of 9-8. Dezelic's third goal of the game put the finishing touches on the victory for Catholic as he made it a hat trick with 3:53 remaining to provide a two-goal cushion for the Cardinals.

Tyler Merchant was nails in goal for Catholic, making 12 saves and allowing just one second-half goal to earn his second victory in between the pipes. Merchant made three saves in the final 6:21 to help preserve the victory.

Dezelic now has multiple goals in four of five games this season, and three games with at least three goals as he added to his team-high 13 goals tonight. Ian Wick scored two first-half goals for Catholic, the first two markers of his Catholic career while Jack Dwyer joined him in scoring his first-career goal, getting on the board with 8:24 to play in the first quarter as the Cardinals took a 2-1 lead. Victor Rosado handed out three assists in the win, giving him three multi-assist games this season and 10 total helpers. 

Defensively, Mike Tayloe and Mason Russo were standouts for Catholic as Tayloe tallied a team-high seven ground balls and Russo added four while helping to slow down the Mary Washington attack in the second half. One game after scoring his first career goal, Matt Ford led Catholic with three caused turnovers. 

Catholic continues its three-game home stand against Curry College on Saturday at 1 p.m.