March 6, 2010
Box Score
EASTON, Pa. - The No. 20-ranked Lafayette men's lacrosse team continued its early season perfection on Saturday afternoon, turning in a workmanlike 15-4 victory over Wagner at Rappolt Field.
The Leopards were led by Stefan Bauer's five goals, along with three apiece from junior Tom Perini and senior Chris Ahern.
Lafayette never trailed, as Ahern opened the scoring at the 12:21 mark of the first quarter, using a Jon Marcek assist to give the Leopards a 1-0 lead.
Perini grabbed an assist from senior co-captain Steve Serling and then found Bauer with 5:41 left in the opening quarter as the Leopards quickly jumped out to a 3-0 advantage.
Perini, who was named to the Preseason Tewaaraton Watch List this past week, then closed the first quarter scoring on an unassisted tally with 4:43 left.
After Wagner got on the board to open the second period, a pair of seniors got together when co-captain Matt Mersky found Kevin Dunbar in front of the goal for his third goal of the year. Bauer put home his second goal of the day, this time off an assist from Cesar Munoz and the Leopards were coasting into a 6-1 lead with 7:28 remaining in the half.
The Seahawks cut the Leopard lead to four (6-2) before Ahern and Mersky pushed the advantage back to six, as Lafayette took a 8-2 lead into intermission.
The third quarter put the contest in doubt, as the Leopards dominated the 15 minutes, outscoring Wagner 6-0 in the period. Two goals from Bauer along with one each from Perini, Dunbar, Ahern and Ryan Hansen gave Lafayette a 13-2 cushion going into the final quarter.
A final goal from Bauer off an assist from sophomore Colin Serling capped off the Leopard scoring, as head coach Terry Mangan used the lead to gain valuable experience and keep his squad's legs fresh for his roster going into next week's Patriot League opener.
The Leopards outshot Wagner 40-24. Senior Vinny DePasquale earned the victory, totaling four saves on the afternoon in just over 38 minutes of work. Senior Jason Montoya and freshman Ed Stubits also saw time between the pipes for the Leopards, with Stubits grabbing three saves in the final quarter.
Lafayette was 14-for-23 on face-offs, with Munoz a stellar 13-for-18 on the afternoon.
Reigning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week Stewart Inman paced the Leopards with six groundballs on the afternoon.
Lafayette now shifts its focus to a showdown with Navy on Friday night. Face-off is set for 7 p.m. at Rappolt Field. The Mids defeated Bucknell today 8-7 in overtime. Stay tuned to GoLeopards.com and LSN All-Access for details and coverage leading up to the game.
