EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette defeated No. 8/9 Army, 10-9, on Friday night at Fisher Stadium in the Patriot League men's lacrosse opener. The Leopards rattled off four-consecutive goals in the fourth quarter to topple the Black Knights for the first times in series history. 

Benjamin DiBattista collected his fifth hat trick of the campaign to pace the Maroon and White's offense. Senior goalkeeper Joe Doherty made 19 saves (67.9 save percentage) while scooping up five ground balls. 

Army's offense was hot to start the game, tallying two goals (Hill Plunkett, Sean Byrne) in the first five minutes of the quarter. Lafayette answered at the 10:36 mark, using a Nicholas Blalock goal on the man-up opportunity to get on the board (2-1). DiBattista and Joshua Heaney collected goals of their own for a 3-2 lead with 4:49 left in quarter one. The Black Knights countered with a pair of goals from Brayden Fountain and Plunkett to retake the advantage, 4-3, at the end of the first quarter.

Quarter two opened with scores from Gunnar Fellows and Fountain to increase the visitors' lead to 6-3. DiBattista found his way to the net once again at 5:36 for his second goal of the contest. Fountain secured a first-half hat trick with two minutes left, allowing Army to take its 7-4 advantage into the break. In the stanza, Doherty saved five shots while Army's Byrne stopped four.

The Leopards outscored the Black Knights 2-1 in the third quarter. The first goal in the second half was delivered by Blalock with 6:15 on the clock (7-5). Joseph Duggan notched his first score of the night 35 seconds later, pulling Lafayette within one. At 4:34, Army responded during its man-up opportunity. Plunkett sneaked a pass from Fellows past Doherty, keeping a two-goal buffer between the Black Knights and the Maroon and White.

The Leopards entered the fourth quarter trailing 8-6. Twenty-six seconds into the period, Jack Massotto found DiBattista, who promptly fired a shot between the pipes to cut the deficit to 8-7. At 7:04, freshman Cooper Pasko did all the work himself, cutting through the Black Knight defense on his way to the crease. Pasko shot a goal past Byrne to tie the contest at eight apiece.

Duggan collected his second goal of the evening at 4:07 and granted the Maroon and White their second lead of the contest. Seven seconds later, Nick Faccone won the battle at the X and ran right down the middle of the Army defense, adding a goal to increase Lafayette's advantage (10-8). Fountain tallied his fourth score of the night with two minutes to play to make it 10-9.

With 20 seconds remaining, Fellows fired a shot that Doherty poked away. The visitors retained possession, allowing Plunkett to attempt one last shot with two seconds left. Doherty's 19th save of the evening finished off the 10-9 final.

Lafayette travels to Worcester, Mass. on March 14, continuing conference play against Holy Cross.


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