WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Catholic University men's lacrosse team rode a second-half shutout to a Landmark Conference victory on Saturday afternoon, downing Drew 13-5.

After a slow start that saw the Cardinals trail 5-3 at halftime, Catholic did not concede a goal for the final 32 minutes of game time and utilized a 10-0 second-half run to complete the comeback.

One name stood for Catholic during its frustrating first half: Mike Tayloe.

Tayloe caused three turnovers in the opening six minutes of the game and finished the first quarter with a staggering four caused turnovers and three ground balls. The junior finished with a career-high seven caused turnovers and missed a career high by a single ground ball, scooping up six total. 

Both goalkeepers performed well in the low-scoring opening half with Drew's Joe Barnish making 11 saves prior to halftime. Tyler Merchant made six stops in the first half before producing the flawless final 30 minutes that saw the freshman finish with 15 saves. Merchant has now made 15 or more stops four times this season and moves to 6-3 on the year.

Catholic went behind 2-0 before Nolan Scott fired in the first goal of his collegiate career with just 39 seconds remaining in the opening quarter to half the deficit. The Rangers found the net a minute into the second quarter before another Cardinal scored their first goal of the season. Brendan Falatko picked up the ground ball following a Ryan Macksoud face-off win, and after shoveling to Victor Rosado, got it back and fired home to make it 3-2.

Again the two teams traded goals with Brett Spafford scoring for Drew before Ian Wick fired a rocket past Barnish to pull back within one midway through the stanza. The Rangers grabbed one more just prior to the break to bring the 5-3 advantage into halftime.

Peter Donley's team found a different gear after halftime, applying serious pressure to Drew as soon as the second-half whistle blew.

Bjorn Olofson ignited the comeback for Catholic five minutes into the third quarter when he took a Drew Bryner feed and fired home. Fitz McLaughlin equalized five minutes later before two late-quarter goals from Mike Mulligan and McLaughlin again pushed Catholic ahead 7-5.

The usual scoring suspects took over for the Cardinals in the final stanza to push the game out of Drew's grasp. Rosado scored three in the period to complete a fourth-quarter hat trick in less than six minutes of game time while the likes of Mulligan, Wick and season-leading-scorer Steven Dezelic all added one goal each.

Macksoud turned out another successful day at the face-off X, winning 13-of-21 battles for a 61.9 percent success rate. The Cardinals also took advantage of their man-up chances, converting at 2-for-3 clip their extra-man opportunities.

Catholic won the ground ball battle by a significant margin (54-34) as John Hadden picked up a career-high eight loose balls to lead the way. Mason Russo joined Hadden, Macksoud and Tayloe as a leader in the category with five ground balls.

With the victory, Catholic moves to 6-4 overall and 2-0 in the Landmark Conference. The Cardinals will continue conference play on Wednesday when they welcome Susquehanna to Carlini Field, with opening face-off set for 4 p.m.