Feb. 21, 2009
Box Score
EASTON, Pa. - The Lafayette men's lacrosse team battled through the first 30 minutes against Villanova on Saturday afternoon, trailing only 5-3 at half, but fell victim to a strong second half from the Wildcats to fall 12-4 in the 2009 season-opener at Rappolt Field.
With a game under their belts, Villanova had the stronger legs in the opening minutes, pressuring the Lafayette defensive zone and tallying the game's first score at the 9:05 mark of the opening quarter to take a 1-0 lead.
Lafayette responded nearly six minutes later when senior John Galassi took a Franklin Floyd pass to find the back of the net and knot the game at one with just over three minutes remaining in the quarter.
After Villanova scored two goals in the opening minute and a half of the second period, the Leopards came right back with two unassisted goals to tie the game at three.
Kevin Dunbar got away from his defender and roped a shot to pull Lafayette within one (3-2) and exactly four minutes later, sophomore Tom Perini grabbed a rebound and went behind-the-back to tie the game up at three with 7:13 left before intermission.
Following five minutes of scoreless action, Villanova notched two goals in the final three minutes to take a 5-3 advantage into halftime.
The third and fourth quarters belonged to the Wildcats, as they scored two man-up and two more even strength goals to break the game midway through the third quarter.
Villanova scored the first three goals of the final 15 minutes before Perini tacked on his second goal of the afternoon to make the 12-4 final score.
Villanova outshot the Leopards 38-20 and went 2-for-4 on man advantages. The Wildcats also held a 27-16 advantage in ground balls. Canfield finished with 11 saves in goal for Lafayette, while Andrew DiLoreto picked up the win with five saves for Villanova.
Lafayette will take the next few days to regroup in preparation for their first road game of the 2009 campaign when it travels to Wagner on Wednesday afternoon. Face-off is set for 3 p.m. in Staten Island, N.Y.
