Box Score
(Allentown, Pa.) – The Dickinson men's lacrosse team came away with a win in a one-goal thriller at Muhlenberg College on Wednesday night. The Red Devils tallied a late goal and held off a late fury from the Mules for a key Centennial Conference win.
The first quarter saw a defensive struggle, ending in a 1-1 tie. Junior face-off man Greg Castro (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) won the opener and scored to put Dickinson on the board early.
Jon Thomas pulled the Mules even at the 6:21 mark to knot the game. Jason Mertz struck with back-to-back goals in the second quarter to put the hosts on top, 3-1, with 8:46 to play in the half.
The Red Devils tallied off a save and quick outlet from Nick Baxter (Boxford, Mass./Governor's) to long pole D.J. Henderson (Wayland, Mass./Wayland). He carried the ball across midfield and fed Chris Menard (South Hadley, Mass./South Hadley) to cut the deficit to 3-2, with 4:15 remaining.
The score would hold to the break as Baxter turned away nine shots in the first half. Michael Smith (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) came away with the ground ball on the opening face-off to start the second half. That would lead a nice dodge and game-tying tally from Menard.
Ryan Campbell (Rumson, N.J./Rumson Fairhaven) won the previous face-off, and earned another win with the help of a GB from Mike Serpa (Wilton, Conn./Wilton).
The teams traded possessions before Austin Dodson (Bethesda, Md./Landon) turned the corner and fired a shot to put the Devils up, 4-3. Muhlenberg answered moments later to knot the game again, 4-4.
Kobi Frankel (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon) followed up with unassisted dodge at the 6:28 mark. The Mules countered once again, capitalizing on a scramble as Mertz found Niko Del Moro in front of the net for the equalizer to end the third quarter.
Serpa came up with the ground ball to start the fourth quarter. The Devils took advantage of a penalty as Chris Jones (Bellmore, N.Y./Bellmore JFK) finished a man-up goal, scoring off an assist from Tucker Carney (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven).
The Red Devils struck again, gaining some momentum as Will Trevenen (Montclair, N.J./Taft) made it 7-5, just 48 seconds later.
The Mules used an extra-man opportunity to cut the deficit to one on a goal by Steven Casella, with 7:08 remaining in the game. A long strike by Connor Winter tied the game briefly, but Dickinson countered on the face-off as Trevenan finished an assist from Carney.
John Thomas tied the game, 8-8, with 3:08 on the clock. The Devils claimed the face-off as Campbell won the draw with a ground ball to Slay Sudah (Franklin Park, N.J./St. Joseph's Prep).
Senior Tyler White (Philadelphia, Pa./Penncrest) came off a beautiful screen to get his hands free, ripping a shot into the corner of the net, with 1:06 remaining in regulation. Campbell won the face-off and the GB, but the Devils lost possession to give the Mules a final chance.
The Mules had two strong looks but could not net the equalizer. Baxter intercepted the trigger pass in the final seconds to secure the 9-8 win.
Campbell finished the night, winning 12-of-16 face-offs and controlling five ground balls. Baxter tallied 14 saves in another great effort between the pipes. Serpa and Sudah each picked-up four GBs.
The Red Devils improve to 6-8 overall and 4-3 in the Centennial Conference. They return home for Red & White Day on Saturday, hosting Franklin & Marshall at 3:00 pm.
