BOSTON – Outscoring their opponents 7-2 in the second half, Emmanuel men's lacrosse won its second straight game, claiming an 11-5 victory over the Nichols Bison on Wednesday night in non-conference play at Clemente Field.
After opening the season with six straight road or neutral site games, the Saints came back to Boston for their home opener on Wednesday, improving to 2-5 with the win. The Bison have dropped three straight as they fall to 1-7.
Leading 4-3 at the half, the Saints managed to pull away in Wednesday's win, thanks to stifling defense and offensive execution. After the sides traded tallies midway through the third, first-year
Braxton Bragg and senior
Ryan Etzo scored 1:25 apart, stretching the Saints lead to 7-4 after three quarters.
Bragg and Bison junior
John Caserta opened the scoring in the fourth quarter, keeping the home side ahead by three. The game hung in the balance with Caserta's man-up goal, as a two-minute, locked-in penalty on the Saints had been assessed, leading to Caserta's tally.
The Saints not only killed off the two-minute foul but turned defense into offense in the final seconds of the penalty, converting a clear into a fast break, eventually leading to a shot from close range by senior
Sanzio DiGesualdo, whose man-down goal gave the Saints a 9-5 lead.
Emmanuel added two more tallies in the final 3:57 with sophomore
Cooper Mehlhorn and DiGesualdo putting the finishing touches on an 11-5 win.
The Saints never trailed in Wednesday's win, opening the game with back-to-back goals by Bragg
. Bison junior
Joey LaChance and DiGesualdo traded goals to finish the first quarter with Emmanuel in front 3-1. Bison first-year
Kane Williams scored two in a row, tying the game 3-3 but Mehlhorn recorded the final goal of the first half, giving the Saints a 4-3 edge.
Bragg, DiGesualdo, and Mehlhorn combined for 10 of the 11 Emmanuel goals with Bragg leading all players with four goals. DiGesualdo and Mehlhorn each finished with a hat trick as Mehlhorn added three assists for a six-point night. Saints goalie
Colby Enos made 10 stops, improving to 2-4 with the win.
Caserta and Williams finished with two goals each for the Bison.
Cooper Melvin finished the night with a game-high four caused turnovers.
Brady Morgan played 56:03 in the Nichols goal, making 14 stops with 10 goals allowed, dropping to 1-7 with the loss.
The Saints return to play on Saturday, March 22, hosting Regis in conference play at noon. The Bison make a trip to VTSU-Castleton on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. game.
