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WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – After honoring its eight seniors, the Lycoming College men’s lacrosse downed Manhattanville College 15-5 on Saturday, May 1. The group accounted for seven goals and six assists en route to the victory.

The Warriors (11-5, 8-2) and their high-powered offense started the game strong, grabbing a 3-1 lead just six minutes into the game. Sophomore Ben Walker got things going early, slipping by his defender and finding the goal at 13:34. The Valiants (5-11, 4-7) evened things at 1-1 after the ensuing faceoff. Back-to-back tallies from Stephen Romano and Ethan Payne helped Lycoming regain the lead. Walker and senior Nate Walter each had an assist. Manhattanville pulled to within one, 3-2 at the 6:42 mark of the quarter, but the Lycoming offense took control of the game, rattling off five unanswered goals over a 12 minute period.

Senior Ed Williams started the run with 6:06 remaining in the opening quarter, getting an assist from Romano, who also had an assist on the next goal, finding an open Payne on the crease. Walter hit Payne with a pass for his second consecutive goal, this time at the 11:34 mark of the second quarter. The fourth and fifth goals of the run came from senior Brad Schaeffer and Walter, with Schaeffer converting a pass from freshmanPat Mahar. The Valiants broke up the scoring run with a tally at 2:34 on clock, but Schaeffer had the last laugh of the half, finding the back of the net with just two seconds remaining, finishing a pass from Mahar and sending Lycoming into halftime with a 9-3 advantage.

Lycoming opened the second half with another streak of goals, tallying four unanswered markers. Walter had a hand in the first two, scoring unassisted two minutes in, and dished a pass to defensive midfielder Victor Gonzalez. Payne and Williams each scored, with Schaeffer getting credited with the assist on the Williams score. Manhattanville scored their lone goal of the third quarter at the 3:05 mark.

Mahar and Williams each found the back of the net to round out the Lycoming scoring effort, with Mahar and Romano connecting on a play, followed by a blistering shot from Williams on a skip pass from Walter on an extra-man opportunity.

Walter posted two goals and four assists for a six-point day, while Williams recorded a hat trick with three goals. Payne finished with a game-high four goals and Schaeffer scored twice and had two assists. Romano had four points in the tilt with one goal and three assists.

Manhattanville’s senior goal tender Andrew Predun finished a stellar career with a 20 save effort, totaling 256 saves this season.

“We knew we needed to shoot well against this goalie,” said head coach Brian Anken. “It was up to us to create extra opportunities in the riding part of our game and getting the ball back on offense.”

The Warriors dominated every aspect of the contest, including outshooting Manhattanville 52-19. Lycoming outgroundballed the Valiants 39-14, the fewest number of groundballs Lycoming has allowed this season. The Warriors gained the offensive zone a perfect 21 of 21 times, and held Manhattanville to 15 of 28 clears. Between senior Mike Doherty and sophomore Tim Clemente, Lycoming won 21 of the games 24 faceoffs, with Doherty winning 11 of his 12 draws while Clemente went 10 of 12. Doherty grabbed a game-high 10 groundballs.

Lycoming’s next game will be in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Middle Atlantic Conference tournament when it hosts rival Widener University on Monday, May 3. The game time has yet to be set.

Notes: Lycoming extended its win streak to six … 15 goals is the most allowed by Manhattnville this season … Lycoming’s 39 groundballs is a season second-best … The Warriors have not played in the quarterfinals of the tournament since April 30, 2005 when it defeated Drew University 12-6).