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WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – With its best defensive performance of the season, the Lycoming College men’s lacrosse team allowed Alvernia to take just 17 shots en route to a solid 8-2 Middle Atlantic Conference win on a sunny Saturday, April 2, at the Shangraw Athletic Complex.

Junior Ben Walker (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) led the Warriors (3-5 overall, 2-1 MAC) with a season-high four points, posting a goal and three assists, while both freshman Brett Farrell (Webster, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) and sophomore Tom Lurie (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) connected with the net twice. Sophomore Stephen Romano (Sewell, N.J./Washington Township) also added a goal and an assist.

Walker got the Warriors running early, scoring with a shot from 12 yards out just 1:05 into the game. Midway through the first quarter, Walker found Payne for a goal in a man-up situation before Romano notched the third goal of the game just 92 seconds later.

In the second quarter, Walker found Lurie for another man-up goal to take a 4-0 lead before the Crusaders (2-7 overall, 0-4 MAC) notched their first goal of the game with 3:49 left in the first half with an inventive shot from almost behind the net by Brian Ray. Walker found Lurie with 2:12 left in the quarter on a man-up goal to give the Warriors a 5-1 lead at the break.

In the second half, Romano found Farrell for a goal at the 10:24 mark of the third before Alvernia scored with 41 seconds left in the quarter on another goal from Ray. As time wound down in the quarter, though, the Warriors responded, with freshman Matt McCaffer (Marcellus, N.Y./Marcellus) finding senior Patrick Heagy (Drexel Hill, Pa./Upper Darby) on the right side of the net and Heagy fired a shot into the net just as the horn went off, giving the Warriors a 7-2 lead.

Farrell closed out the scoring with an unassisted score with 2:45 left.

The Warriors’ defense stood tall all day, as it was successful on 21-of-22 clears, while three keepers combined to stop seven shots and the defense caused eight turnovers, led by three from senior Victor Marchetti (Farmington,  N.Y./Victor).

The Warriors posted a 43-29 advantage in groundballs, led by five from senior J.B. Campanella (Lansdale, Pa./LaSalle) and four each from Marchetti and sophomore Matt Doherty (Ocean Pines, Md./Stephen Decatur).

Senior Josh Danmyer (White Hall,  Md./Hereford) earned the win for the Warriors, posting four saves in the first half. The freshmen pair of Andrew Hauk (Sackets Harbor, N.Y./Immaculate Heart) and Sean Brown (Baltimore, Md./Lansdowne) played the second half, with Hauk making three stops.

Ray notched both goals for the Crusaders, adding two groundballs. Goalkeeper Kevin Shupp led the team with five groundballs and Andrew Dittman and Jake Buzby each added four. Shupp also added 16 saves in net.

The Warriors stay in the friendly confines of the Shangraw Athletic Complex, where they will meet MAC foe Lebanon Valley on Wednesday, April 6, at 4 p.m.