Men's Lacrosse tops Marian 9-7 in 1st Win of 2018
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas men's lacrosse team earned its first win of the 2018 season by edging Marian University 9-7 on Sunday afternoon. Tyler Smith (Snoqualmie, Wash.) led the team with three goals, including two crucial ones in the last quarter. The Sabres (0-2) never led, but cut a four-goal deficit in the last three minutes. Dallas (1-1) was able to hang on, with Christian Lopez (Las Vegas, Nev.) making a huge save the last minute to halt the momentum. There was rain at the start of the match, which made for a wet afternoon during the day. the rainfall did stop midway through the second quarter.
Chasen Reynolds (Fallbrook, Calif.) and J.P. Hasson (Fairfax, Va.) got the Crusaders on the board with a 2-0 advantage through the opening 15 minutes. Smith assisted Hasson's first career goal with 2:14.
Marian countered with two goals in the first five minutes of the second quarter. Garret Houlihan scored on an assist from Connor Houlihan to get on the board. C. Houlihan knotted the score a little over a minute later with 10:06 before intermission.
Smith notched his first goal of the game with 2:28 to put UD back in front for the remainder of the contest. Hasson picked up the first of his two assists. Peter Early (San Antonio, Texas) threw in a goal with 30 seconds until the buzzer.
Dallas took control in the third with a pair of man-up goals that were part of a 3-1 scoring swing. Tucker Jameson (Mechanicsville, Md.) netted both scores on those man-up advantages. Alex Graham (League City, Texas) picked up a groundball and cleared the ball all the way down on transition for his first collegiate goal in between.
Ahead 7-3 in the last frame, neither team found the back of the cage for nine minutes. Smith posted the goal to give the Crusaders their largest lead. However, the Sabres struck for two quick goals, including a man-up result by Houlihan with about four left. Nick Klotz was involved on both plays with the netter previously and assist on the man-up.
Smith stopped the momentum by winning the faceoff (which he was 6-9 on the day) and scored the goal after winning the groundball and driving for a quick score. Even with the late goals by Marian, the home team would prevail by getting a stop and successfully clearing the ball to run the time out.
Smith led the Crusaders with a hat trick and assist. He added a team-high five groundballs. Jameson also surpassed three points with a goal and two helpers. Lopez made nine saves against 16 shots faced in 60 minutes.
Dallas narrowly outshot the Sabres 29-28, with the guests holding a 12-4 edge in the fourth. The Crusaders won 10 faceoffs in 19 chances and were 2-of-9 on penalties. Overall, Marian had eight minutes and 30 seconds on nine infractions compared to UD's three. The Sabres also led in groundballs 34-26.
C. Houlihan posted four goals and eight groundballs for the Sabres. Tommy Gerlach also had eight groundballs. Gavin Taquino made nine saves in the cage.
UP NEXT
Dallas is at Fontbonne University on February 24th for a 2 p.m. start.