WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Catholic men's lacrosse team hosted Messiah on Saturday afternoon for their season-opening match up. The Cardinals battled hard against the Falcons, but dropped the match 10-7.
The game was evenly matched from the first whistle, with no score from either team for almost four minutes. Messiah's Chris Esslinger was the first to strike in quarter one, allowing the Falcons to hold a 1-0 lead until the final two minutes of the quarter.
Steven Dezelic then found the equalizer, and the game was tied up heading into quarter two.
Messiah found the back of the net less than a minute into the second with a goal from Bobby Berg, but Cardinals didn't let that stop them. The quarter was back and forth between the two teams,
Alejandro Masferrer,
Cullen Lotz, and
Brady McMahon each contributing a goal early in the second half to keep the fight alive. Lotz and Dezelic each notched their second goals of the game to close out the first half and hold the lead over Messiah, 6-4 as they headed into the intermission.
The Falcons had a strong second half, with three goals from Berg in the third to take back their lead over the Cardinals. Messiah continued to grow their lead over Catholic in the final quarter, and held up strong defensively, holding the Cardinals to a lone goal from Lotz in the last minute of play.
Alex Populoh anchored the defense with a team-high four caused turnovers and four ground balls.
Zach Gibson and
Jake McGowan each added three caused turnovers, while Gibson and Dezelic both scooped up five ground balls.
Lotz finished the game with three goals, while Dezelic followed with two.
Logan Farrington picked up the lone assist of the game.
Connor Baia and
Jack Suchanek had strong performances in face-offs, Baia going 11-14 while Suchanek went 6-7. Together, they held Messiah to only four face-off victories.
Despite logging a loss for the game,
Colton Manorek recorded a solid five saves against the Falcons.
Up next, the Cardinals will take on Haverford on Saturday, Feb. 21. The game is scheduled to begin at noon at Walton Field.
