CARLISLE, Pa. - The eighth-ranked Dickinson men's lacrosse team got three goals each from
Owen Porter and
Skyler Schluter to hold off a solid Illinois Wesleyan University side 11-9 on Saturday afternoon at Biddle Field in non-conference play. The Red and White also held the Titans offense well under their season average in shots allowing just 41 to a team that fires around 76 shots per game.
Each team would pick up a shot within the first two minutes as
Lee Dunn missed the mark, before Gage Black forced an early stop out of
Chris Brandau. The Devils did find the back of the net a minute later when
Griffin Moore went wide, but off the ensuing backup he hit
Lee Dunn for the finish. After two offerings by DC sailed off target, Carson Kiichle got the visitors on the board with 9:14 to go. Titans keeper Colin Tervo prevented
Will Farrell from giving the Devils the edge, leading to Bob Boone cashing in at the other end. IWU would hold the lead for about three minutes prior to DC leveling things up when
Seamus McCloskey tracked down a loose ball on the defensive end of the field resulting in Porter grabbing his first of the contest at the 10:53 mark. The nets bulged four more times in the frame with Ethan Hart and Nick Schroeder tallying for the guests to take a 4-2 edge, prior to
Ben Tomick and Moore handing out assists to Schluter and Dunn respectively to have the game locked at 4-4 through one.
Dickinson took their first lead of the game with 40-seconds gone in the second when Schluter buried the rock after the faceoff win for
John McKee and groundball pick up for McCloskey. Offerings by
James Isaacson and Dunn did not find the mark allowing for Ike Eastburn to score on the other end. The shots kept flying for the guests with Connor Kiichle and his brother Carson both forcing stops from Brandau, before Eastburn got his second and reclaimed the lead for IWU (6-5). The Titans had four of the next five attempts with the lone Devil one coming from the stick of Schluter, but was turned aside by Tervo. Off the ensuing transition opportunity Boone pushed the margin to 7-5 with 7:09 left. Shots by
Capp Reynolds, Farrell, Isaacson, Moore and Porter over the following four minutes led to two saves for Tervo, before Dunn found Porter for a rocket (7-6). Porter then served as the provider a minute later setting up Isaacson for his first of the day bringing the hosts to level terms at the break.
Illinois Wesleyan had the opening four chances of the third, but none of them scared Brandau. In fact it would be the Devils keeper who almost gave the hosts the lead as the Titans broke out into a 10-man ride resulting in the goalie sailing a shot just over the crossbar. However, at the 3:53 mark Dickinson did grab the lead thanks to Porter who stuck home a feed by Isaacson. The Red and White kept on the attack ripping five more shots towards cage with Tervo beating aside an attempt by
Sascha Gannon, before Isaacson bested him at the halfway point of the frame. Dickinson had ample opportunities to extend their advantage heading to the fourth outshooting the visitors 14-3 over the final seven minutes as Tervo was tasked with making three stops to keep the score at 9-7 heading to the fourth.
Each side notched a shot within the first minute as Porter was stopped by Tervo, while Kiichle went wide. With 13:24 left the Red and White pushed the margin to three (10-7) when Porter dished the rock to Schluter for the finish. The following four minutes went by scoreless as Dickinson had blasts from
Sam Campbell,
Jack Murphy and Dunn miss the target, before Murphy whipped home a shot man-up from a nice Moore setup after a slash was called against Michael Campagna. The Titans then mounted a two-goal charge on markers by Kiichle and Black to close within 11-9 still with eight minutes remaining. However, Brandau stood tall needing to make two stops out of the final four IWU shots, while Dickinson rang two posts and hit a crossbar with their last eight attempts to see the game across the finish line 11-9.
Red Devil Leaders
Goals - Porter and Schluter (3), Dunn and Isaacson (2)
Assists - Moore (3), Porter (2)
Groundballs - Reynolds (8), Brandau and McKee (6), McCloskey (5)
Saves - Brandau 11
Titan Leaders
Goals - Boone and Eastburn (2)
Assists - Kiichle (2)
Groundballs - Campagna (6), Gisi and Tervo (4)
Saves - Tervo (10)
Next on the Field
Dickinson (5-0) will make the trip down to Owings Mills, Maryland on Friday night 8:30 to take on (RV) Stevenson University on Day One of the Mustang Classic. The Red and White will then have a quick turnaround as they square-off with second-ranked Christopher Newport University a day later at 5:45 pm.
