SCRANTON, Pa. - The Catholic men's lacrosse team hit the road on Saturday for an afternoon Landmark Conference match up against Scranton. The Cardinals fell to the Royals in the game, 17-5.
Scranton was first on the board in the meeting with a goal from Jason Kozak. They kept that momentum going in the first quarter, scoring six goals.
With seven shots in the second, the Cardinals looked to make a comeback, but they were unable to find the back of the net in the quarter as the Royals extended their lead, starting with two goals from Cooper Roberts. Scranton netted four more goals in the second period, leaving the Cardinals trailing 10-0 at the half.
After the break, Catholic began to get into a groove. Scranton opened the second half with three more goals, extending their lead to 13.
Zach Gibson put the Cardinals on the board in the third, scoring unassisted.
Burke Healy followed as Catholic kept fighting to narrow the gap, scoring their second goal, his 31st in his debut season. With seconds remaining on the clock, Roberts added another goal in favor of Scranton, and the Cardinals trailed 14-2 heading into the final quarter.
Cullen Lotz opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back goals for Catholic, bringing him to 22 goals on the season.
Ryan Carickhoff capped the scoring in the fourth, netting his first of the game off a feed from Lotz. Despite their best efforts to hold them off, and 10 shots from the Cardinals, Scranton added three more goals in the quarter and Catholic was unable to overcome them, falling in the game 17-5.
Offensively, Lotz led the team with three points after scoring two goals and logging an assist.
Sam Pikul, Finn Smith, and
Jake McGowan each played crucial roles on defense, logging a caused turnover apiece. Smith scooped up three ground balls while Pikul and McGowan each had two.
Despite the loss,
Colton Manorek recorded eight saves against the Royals.
Jack Suchanek and
Connor Baia battled hard in faceoffs, winning 14 to Scranton's 11. Baia had six ground balls in the game, followed by Suchanek with five.
Up next, the Cardinals will host Susquehanna on Wednesday, April 15. The game is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Carlini Field.
