WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson men's lacrosse team was unable to overcome a fast start by Ohio Northern in today's nonconference bout, as the Presidents fell by a 15-7 final score in their 2019 home opener.
With the loss, the Red & Black fall to 1-2 to start of the young season. The Polar Bears, on the other hand, improve to 1-1 in 2019.
The main difference in today's game came in the second quarter, when Ohio Northern outscored W&J by an 8-1 margin. In the three remaining periods, the score sat at 7-6 in favor of the Polar Bears. The Red & Black outscored their non-league foes, 6-5, in the second half.
For the game, Ohio Northern held a 54-32 lead in shots and a 34-19 advantage in shots on goal. The Presidents' main advantage came in saves, as W&J made 19 stops, compared to the Polar Bears' 12.
Leading the Red & Black's attack was
Benjamin Ward (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) with three goals. On the season, Ward is second on the team with six goals, as he scored three in back-to-back games. He now has 80 goals in his career, which is tied for the seventh most in program history.
Mark Mandak (Enola, Pa./Trinity) also had three points with three assists. His three assists are his first of the season.
Rounding out the Presidents' multiple-point scorers were
Alex Strain (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper Saint Clair) and
Pat Brunner (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) with two points each. Strain scored two goals and now has a team-high 12 points (9g, 3a) on the year. Brunner tallied one goal and one assist, his third consecutive game with two-plus points.
Leading the Presidents' defense was
Joseph Tritschler (New Kensington, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) with a game-high eight ground balls and a team-high three caused turnovers.
In cage,
Noah Cohen (Hewlett, N.Y./George W. Hewlett) played all 60 minutes and made 19 saves. With 19 stops, the junior backstop climbed into a tie for second on W&J's career saves leaderboard with 546.
The Presidents will continue their current three-game homestand on Saturday, Mar. 2, with a 1 p.m. tilt against Alfred University.
