LEXINGTON, Va. – Catholic University used a five-goal second period to produce a 13-6 victory over Washington and Lee in the men's lacrosse season-opener for both teams on Saturday at Wilson Field.
The Generals (0-1) used goals by sophomore midfielder
Peter Sheehan III (Towson, Md. / St. Paul's) and senior midfielder
Tommy MacCowatt (New Vernon, N.J. / Delbarton) to post a 2-1 lead following the first quarter of play. However, the Cardinals (1-0) began the second quarter with three straight tallies to assume a 4-2 lead with 9:49 left in the first half.
W&L senior midfielder
Fenner Pollock (Nashville, Tenn. / Montgomery Bell Academy) scored unassisted at the 6:54 mark to pull within 4-3, but the Cardinals closed with three straight goals for a 6-3 edge at the halftime break.
The Blue & White scored just 11 seconds into the second half when junior long-stick midfielder
Boots Lackey (Alexandria, Va. / The Heights School) beat CUA junior goalkeeper Nic Pezone in transition to make it a 6-4 game. That would be as close as the Generals would get the rest of the way, as Catholic closed the third period with four of the next five goals to carry a 10-5 lead into the final quarter.
The Cardinals tallied three more times in the fourth quarter to pull away for the seven-goal win in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Catholic led 49-41 in shots and the Generals won the ground ball battle, 29-28. The Cardinals won 13 out of 23 faceoffs and went 3-for-4 in extra man situations.
W&L was paced by MacCowatt, who scored two goals. Senior goalkeeper
Nick Spagnoletti (Madison, N.J. / Madison) notched 13 saves and junior midfielder
Matt Gallagher (Lynchburg, Va. / E.C. Glass) won a team-best nine faceoffs (9-for-20).
Senior attackman Sean Baudo totaled two goals and two assists to lead the Catholic offense. Junior midfielder Luke D'Ambrogi chipped in four assists. Pezone logged 10 saves in goal.
Washington and Lee will be back in action next Saturday when it travels to fifth-ranked York (Pa.) for a 1:00 pm contest.
