Seniors shine in win against Marymount

By KEVIN BOILARD

The University of Mary Washington men’s lacrosse team snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday, April 20, stomping the Marymount University Saints, 19-4, in the Eagles’ final Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) match-up of the regular season.

With the win, the Eagles clinched the No. 5 seed in the CAC tournament. The 19-goal performance against the Saints matched UMW’s largest offensive output of the season (at Wesley, 19-6), and the 15-point margin of victory was the team’s most one-sided win of the season.

Head Coach Kurt Glaeser was happy to see his team finally jump out to an early lead against Marymount in the last game of the regular season.

“I would have liked to have seen it a couple games earlier,” Glaeser said. “I don’t know where it’s been, but I’m glad we found it.”

The Eagles, who have been slow out of the gate in April, blew the door off its hinges in the first quarter, shooting out to an 8-0 lead in the first 15 minutes of play. Seven different players scored in the opening frame, including junior attackman John Bohlinger, the only Eagle to score twice in the opening period of play.

Bohlinger, who finished the regular season tied for the team lead in goals with 27, thinks the team is coming together at the perfect time.

“Coming off a four-game losing streak, we needed this really, really big win,” Bohlinger said. “Going into the playoffs, hopefully we can ride this little hot streak.”

Bohlinger added a third goal on a twisting jump shot with 23 seconds left in the second quarter, completing his hat trick before the first half came to a close. Midfielder Sean Dacey and junior attackman Luke Dick also registered hat tricks in the meteoric victory. Junior midfielders Joey Marson and Chip Pittard both scored twice.

While the Eagles’ offense clicked early on, building an 11-2 lead by halftime, the defense was equally impressive. Senior goalie, Kyle Davitt, earned his first start of the season, taking over as UMW’s defensive centerpiece. Junior Zack DelGrosso started every other game this season.

In three quarters of action, Davitt saw 11 shots, making eight saves and only allowing three goals against. Although Davitt’s 72.7 save percentage against Marymount dwarfed Del Grosso’s season-long average of 57.4, it came against a Saints team winless in conference play this season.

Still, Davitt was recognized as the CAC’s defensive player of the week for his stand-in performance.

“I couldn’t ask for anything more on Senior Day,” Davitt said, reflecting on his first start of the season. “Hopefully, we can keep this up in the playoffs.”

It was unclear whether Glaeser preferred Del Grosso, the more experienced net minder, or Davitt, the hot hand, moving forward into the conference tournament.

“We needed a change,” Glaeser said. “Now we’ve got a horse race for the starting goalie position again.”

When play resumed for the second half, it was smooth sailing for the Eagles. Even the reserves, who see significantly less playing time, were able to hold up the charge. Cole Wyrough, a senior, scored his first goal of the season with just under 11 minutes to play. About a minute later, sophomore midfielder Jared Krikorian recorded his second tally of 2013.

Although the Eagles led 19-4 when the final whistle sounded, there were a few statistical categories in which UMW failed to dominate. In particular, the Eagles won only 40.7 percent of the face-offs, and the man-up squad failed to capitalize on all four of its opportunities. Both aspects of the game have, in combination, acted as UMW’s Achilles’ heel all season long.

Nine seniors and their parents were honored for Senior Day before the game. Dacey, Wyrough, Davitt and six other seniors each played their final game at the Battleground.