EASTON, Pa. – The Lafayette men's lacrosse battled Holy Cross to a 13-8 victory on Saturday, picking up its first Patriot League win of the season. The Leopards had eight different goal scorers on the day and freshmen Joshua Heaney (4) and Benjamin DiBattista (3) paced Lafayette's offense, combining for seven goals.

Jude Lynch was the main man for the Crusaders, notching a hat trick in as many attempts on goal.

The Leopards' offensive leader Riley Sullivan put Lafayette on the board in the opening six seconds after senior Evan Prince won the faceoff and found Sullivan who fired it home. Prince's assist was his first of the season and the third of his career. Freshman Mason Hill tacked on another goal for Lafayette (9:09) before Lynch got Holy Cross going with a tally not even a minute later. DiBattista found the back of the net twice down the stretch and the Maroon and White led 4-2 after the first quarter.

Heaney picked up where his classmate left off, dispatching his first goal of the day (14:09) to open the second stanza. Will Messineo cut the Crusaders' deficit to two goals (5-3) after he scored at the 11:44 mark. Lafayette closed the half with four unanswered goals, which featured a first career goal from freshman midfielder Charlie Merrick. At the break, the Leopards held a 9-3 advantage.

The visitors found some offensive rhythm in the third quarter, outscoring the Leopards 3-2. Junior Nick Muller started the period with a goal, before Holy Cross scored two straight, thanks to Owen Tunney and Lynch. Junior Liam Sargent later restored a six-goal Lafayette lead (11-5) with 5:58 remaining. Henry Sheehan fired home for Holy Cross with four seconds left in the quarter, now trailing 11-6 with 15 minutes to go.

Both teams found the back of the net twice in the final quarter, as Lafayette picked up its first Patriot League victory of the 2025 campaign.

Senior faceoff specialist Evan Prince went 14-22 (63.6 percent) from the x on Saturday, while scooping up a game-high five ground balls. Lafayette's goalkeeper Joe Doherty and Holy Cross' John Long both made five saves in the outing.

The Maroon and White hit the road next Saturday for a 1 p.m. matchup at Loyola Md.
 

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