March 14, 2009

Box Score

EASTON, Pa. - Despite only being outshot 40-39, the Lafayette men's lacrosse team fell to Patriot League foe Bucknell 18-6 on Saturday afternoon at Rappolt Field. Junior attack Matt Mersky paced the Leopards with two goals and an assist.

Bucknell jumped out early and often, setting the tone from the opening faceoff. Five goals, all unassisted at even strength started the game, as the Bison leaped out to a 5-0 advantage with 5:05 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Leopards closed the final five minutes strong, holding Bucknell scoreless and grabbing Mersky's first goal of the afternoon off a Cesar Munoz assist.

However, the Bison dominated the second frame, holding a 4-0 advantage and taking a 10-1 lead into intermission.

After Bucknell stretched the lead to 12-1 following two early second half tallies, the Leopards scored back-to-back goals. The first came from Stefan Bauer and was followed by a Matt Beck pass to find Mersky in front of the net to cut the Bison lead to eight with 9:11 to play in the third quarter.

Bucknell responded with two goals before senior John Galassi used a Bauer feed to find the back of the net. The Bison closed the quarter on a 4-1 spurt, with the lone Lafayette goal coming from sophomore Tom Perini.

Bauer opened the final quarter with a goal off a Mersky assist before Bucknell ended the scoring with an even strength goal at the 2:28 mark to record the 18-6 Patriot League win.

Senior Jeff Canfield notched seven saves on the afternoon in just over 47 minutes of work, while Vinny DePasquale totaled three saves in his 12 minutes between the pipes.

The Bison held a 17-10 advantage in face-offs and 27-21 win in ground balls.

The Leopards will have little time to regroup, as they remain home to face Stony Brook on Tuesday afternoon. Face-off is set for 3 p.m. at Rappolt Field.