Box Score Box Score

GRANTHAM, Pa. – A strong first half was the key to victory for the Lycoming College men’s lacrosse team, which picked up a big Middle Atlantic Conference victory over Messiah College 7-4 on Wednesday, April 7. Senior faceoff specialist Mike Doherty tallied his 1,000th career draw in the contest.

Doherty, who is currently ranked second in the nation in winning percentage (.730 through the first eight games), carries a career faceoff percentage of .647, winning 651 of his 1,006 attempts.

The Falcons (3-5, 2-2) tagged the first goal of the game, but back-to-back goals from freshman Stephen Romano gave Lycoming a 2-1 advantage. Messiah found the back of the net with 24 seconds remaining in the first quarter, but Lycoming had the last laugh, with Ethan Payne scoring with just two seconds on the clock.

Payne had a hand in the first two goals of the second period, scoring once and finding Nate Walter for an assist. The Falcons scored their only goal of the quarter at 6:29, but Lycoming (5-4, 3-1) finished the half strong with Romano scoring his third and Ryan O'Connor finishing a pass from Walter to give Lycoming a 7-3 lead at halftime.

The O’Connor tally proved to be the final Warrior goal of the night as both teams locked into a defensive battle. Messiah’s netminder Josh Stewart made 16 saves, including six in the fourth quarter. The Falcons scored the only goal of the second half with 9:08 remaining in the fourth period.

Romano finished the game with a hat trick and one assist, while Payne tallied three points on two goals and one assist. Walter scored once and dished out one assist. At the faceoff spot, Doherty dominated, winning 11 of the 14 draws, picking up a game-high nine groundballs. Junior goalie Alan Antinarelli (Rochester, N.Y./Aquinas) made 11 stops to earn the win.

As a team, Lycoming took 33 shots and picked up 24 groundballs. The Warriors cleared the ball on 16 of their 22 attempts, while only allowed Messiah to gain the offensive zone 19 out of 26 times.

The Warriors are at FDU-Florham in Madison, N.J. for their next Middle Atlantic Conference contest on Saturday, April 10. The opening faceoff is set for 1 p.m.