EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette men's lacrosse outscored Air Force 7-2 in the second half to register an 11-8 victory in the season opener on Saturday at Fisher Stadium.
 
In that decisive second half, all seven Leopard goals were scored by different players. The bulk of the team's scoring in the game came from a senior (Riley Sullivan) and a freshman (Joseph Duggan), each of whom registered hat tricks on the afternoon.

Sullivan and Duggan had two goals apiece in a first half that saw the Leopards trail 6-4.

After intermission, it took rookie Nicholas Blalock just seven seconds to get the Leopards on the board, rifling home a shot off an assist from sophomore Jack Massotto to cut the deficit to 6-5. Air Force answered five minutes later to lead 7-5 at 9:54 in the third.
 
Then, the Leopard offense took over, scoring six unanswered goals from 4:08 in the third to 7:30 in the fourth. Sullivan's final goal pulled Lafayette within one, 7-6, before Lukas Digiovanni broke through and netted a goal to knot the game at 7-7 with 3:59 left. That score held through the end of the third quarter.
 
The final stanza was all Leopards. Junior Nick Muller's unassisted tally gave Lafayette its first lead of the game at 12:39, igniting a four-goal barrage over a five-minute span. Freshmen Clifford Champan, Duggan and Benjamin DiBattista pushed Lafayette to an 11-7 lead at 7:30. The Falcons' Cole Rassas converted the team's final extra-man opportunity with a goal with 1:51 to run the final to 11-8.
 
Rassas had his own hat trick that included two extra-man scores to lead Air Force's attack. Things were pretty even in the face-off X, with Air Force holding a 12-11 advantage. Leopard sophomore Nick Faccone won half of his 16 opportunities.
 
In goal, junior Joe Doherty made 11 saves on the 19 shots on goal that he faced. Air Force goalkeeper Jake Marek surrendered 11 goals and stopped 10 shots.
 
The Leopards will be back in action on Feb. 8 at Binghamton for a noon match.


To keep up with the Lafayette men's lacrosse team, follow its social media pages.

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