WORCESTER, Mass. - Lafayette fell to Holy Cross on Saturday, 11-9, despite goals from six different Leopards. The Maroon and White moved to 1-1 in conference play.

Joshua Heaney netted his second hat trick of the campaign, while Jett Klassen (2 G, 1 A) finished with three points. Benjamin DiBattista, George Urich, Nicholas Blalock and Joseph Duggan scored one goal apiece.

Heaney put the Leopards ahead at 13:31 in quarter one, finding the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. Less than 20 seconds later, the Maroon and White scored once again. Klassen fired a shot from DiBattista to push the Lafayette advantage to 2-0. At 8:02 in the first quarter, the Crusaders got on the board after Aedan Cassidy cut through the Leopards' 10-man ride for the score (2-1). At the mid-way point of the period (7:35), Klassen collected his second score. Lafayette held a 3-1 lead prior to Crusader goals from Jude Lynch and Owen Tunney. The two teams wrapped up the first quarter tied at 3-3.

Two goals were scored in the second stanza, both from the Leopards. At the 8:29 mark, Duggan notched his 11th goal of the season (4-3). With 2:44 to play before half, DiBattista scored courtesy of a pass from Klassen. At the break, Lafayette held a 5-3 lead. In the quarter two, goalie Joe Doherty was a perfect 4-for-4 on save opportunities while Holy Cross' JR Long was 2-for-4.

The Crusaders outscored Lafayette, 3-2, in the third quarter. Tunney, Andrew Ottomanelli and Julian Jenkins all scored. The Maroon and White's two goals came via Heaney, who collected his second hat trick of the season. Lafayette led 7-6 entering into the final 15 minutes of action.

The Leopards opened the fourth with a goal 40 seconds into the stanza. Urich picked off a pass from Holy Cross before promptly firing it into an empty net (8-6). The hosts flipped momentum over the next 11 minutes with a stretch of four consecutive goals. With 3:56 left to play, Will Deo scored the third Holy Cross goal in the run, giving the Crusaders their first lead of the afternoon (9-8). Damien Ramondo netted the final goal in the spurt for a 10-8 lead with 3:14 on the clock. Blalock tallied a late goal prior to Holy Cross scoring to finalize the score, 11-9.  

Long earned the win in between the pipes for Holy Cross, saving six shots. Doherty was the losing goalie, making 12 saves.

Lafayette returns to Easton on Friday, hosting Navy at 7:30 p.m. for the program's 100-Year celebration/Alumni Day.


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