CLEARWATER, Fla. – Emmanuel Men's Lacrosse opened their spring break trip to Florida with a matchup against Colleges of the Fenway partner and fellow Boston school Wentworth at Phillip Jones Field in Clearwater, coming up short in a 16-7 contest. The win improves the Leopards to 4-2, while the Saints move to 0-3 early in the 2025 season.

Sophomore Cooper Mehlhorn opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the season, giving the Saints a 1-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. Wentworth answered at the 10:43 mark with a goal from Colin Ocampo, but Emmanuel regained the lead shortly after with a score from junior Samuel Yan. The Leopards roared back, with a Drew Bouley goal beginning a 4-0 run to close out the first period with a 5-2 advantage.

After first-year Gavyn Freiberger scored his first career goal to bring the Saints within three at 7-4, Wentworth tightened up defensively. The Leopards held Emmanuel scoreless for over nine minutes to close out the second quarter, while adding two goals of their own to take a 9-4 lead into the break.

Wentworth carried their momentum from the second quarter into the third, scoring the first four goals of the period to extend their lead. Sophomore Cole Cloney answered with a goal for the Saints midway through the quarter, but two more goals from the Leopards left Emmanuel trailing 15-5 heading into the final period.

Kobi Buffa scored another goal for the Leopards early in the fourth period, while seniors Ryan Etzo and Sanzio DiGesualdo each added a goal in the final five minutes for the Saints, with Emmanuel ultimately falling 16-7.

Mehlhorn led the Saints in scoring, posting two goals and adding three ground balls. Ty Carroll and Jack Antico each contributed a pair of caused turnovers in the loss for Emmanuel.

Wentworth was led by three-goal performances from Erik Vogt, Jared Hiller, and Kobi Buffa. Connor Charron recorded a game-high 11 ground balls, while Dryden Fisher added six. Tom Gardner earned the win in goal, making 13 saves in 45 minutes of action.

Up next, both Wentworth and Emmanuel will return to Phillip Jones Field in Clearwater for matchups against the Dubuque Spartans. The Saints will face the Spartans on Tuesday (3/4) at 2:00 PM, while the Leopards will meet them on Thursday (3/6) at 2:00 PM.