MADISON, N.J. — The Emmanuel College men's lacrosse team dropped a 15-4 decision to Emerson on Sunday afternoon at Ranger Stadium in the Leanos Cup consolation game, falling to 1-3 on the season. Despite a strong opening quarter, Emmanuel was unable to sustain the momentum as Emerson pulled away for a decisive victory.
Emmanuel showed early fight in the opening quarter, trading blows with Emerson in a back-and-forth first period. Cole Cloney got the Saints on the board with an unassisted goal at the 8:47 mark, trimming the deficit to 2-1. The Saints battled back late in the quarter, with Cloney burying another unassisted goal and Ethan Madura — assisted by Cooper Mehlhorn — netting a third goal that pulled Emmanuel within one at 4-3 heading into the final minutes of the first period.
However, Emerson's Aedan Kiniry answered with a man-down goal with just 27 seconds remaining in the first quarter, sending the Lions into the break with a 5-3 lead. The goal proved a turning point — Kiniry scoring while shorthanded deflated what had been growing Emmanuel momentum.
The second quarter proved costly for Emmanuel. Emerson went on a 4-0 run, extending the lead to 9-3 by halftime and leaving the Saints scoreless over the final 30 minutes of the first half. The Lions continued to roll in the third quarter, outscoring Emmanuel 3-0 to push the lead to 12-3 heading into the fourth.
Mehlhorn's unassisted goal in the fourth quarter at the 8:13 mark made it 14-4, before the Lions would notch one final goal at the 4:01 mark in the final frame.
Emmanuel's defense faced significant pressure throughout, surrendering 50 shots on the game. Goalkeeper Colby Enos was active in net, finishing with 14 saves on 31 shots on goal in about 47 minutes of work. Jake Lynn also made three saves in relief.
Cole Cloney led the Saints offensively with two goals and put up 14 shots on the afternoon, showing a willingness to attack and get to the cage throughout the game. Cooper Mehlhorn added a goal and an assist and Ethan Madura rounded out the scoring with one goal, also generating 14 shots to keep pressure on Emerson's net.
Emmanuel struggled at the faceoff, winning just 9 of 22 draws (41%), limiting possession opportunities throughout the game. The Saints also surrendered extra-man opportunities with penalty trouble, going 0-for-7 on those situations while Emerson converted 1-of-2 man-up opportunities, and Emerson also scored man-down goals twice against Emmanuel.
Christian Hanoian was a workhorse in the ground ball battle for Emmanuel, picking up 8 ground balls on the day. The Saints as a team collected 34 ground balls compared to Emerson's 50, a gap that proved difficult to overcome.
Up Next
The Saints will be at Albertus Magnus College on Tuesday, March 10 at 6:00 p.m. for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference battle. The Saints are 1-0 in GNAC play after a win over Lasell in thrilling overtime fashion last week.
