NEWARK, N.J. – Lafayette men's lacrosse took care of business on the road at NJIT on Saturday, defeating the Highlanders 19-9 at Simon Stadium. Sophomore attacker Benjamin DiBattista recorded a career-high eight goals and classmate Nicholas Blalock tacked on three to lead the charge.

NJIT struck first at the 11:52 mark of the first period through Will Corry. Junior midfielder Brendan Poirier then tied it up just over a minute later (10:28), which sparked a run for the Leopards. Joseph Duggan and DiBattista netted back-to-back goals, but the hosts scored two goals of their own to knot the game at three goals apiece after 15 minutes.

The Maroon and White dominated the second stanza, outscoring the Highlanders 5-3. DiBattista's score with 12:36 remaining jumpstarted a 5-0 Leopards' run that saw goals from freshman Jett Klassen (1) and captains Aidan Kopen (1) and Nick Muller (1). Head coach Patrick Myers' group was up 8-3 with six minutes to go in the half, but NJIT put together a 2-0 spurt to make it a three-goal game (8-5) heading into halftime.

Quarter number three featured nine goals, seven of which were fired home by Lafayette. The Highlanders netted an early goal to get the half rolling, but Blalock (2) and DiBattista (1) found the back of the net in quick succession to restore a five-goal Leopard advantage (11-6). JC Echezuria scored for the Highlanders with 3:03 to go before the Maroon and White finished the period in style. Josh Heaney (1) and DiBattista (3) rifled home four more goals in the last two minutes of the third quarter to hand Lafayette a 15-7 lead with one period to go.

The Leopards racked up four more goals in the final stanza to claim their second win of the 2026 campaign. After a perfect start, the hosts fell to 2-1 with today's defeat.

Senior captain Joe Doherty finished his day with 10 saves, while his counterpart Cameron Kurdyla made 14 stops.

Junior faceoff specialist Nick Faccone had another impressive day at the X for the Leopards, winning 17 of his 24 duels while scooping up a game-high 11 ground balls.
 

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