ALLENTOWN, Pa. - For the third consecutive game the Dickinson men's lacrosse team found themselves in a back-and-forth slugfest against an opponent as the Red and White rallied back from an early 3-0 hole to take a 10-9 lead late in the fourth. However, two quick markers from the host Muhlenberg College was enough to stun the Devils 11-10 in the Centennial Conference opener for both teams at Scotty Wood Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The home team came out letting the rock fly as they recorded three shots in the opening three minutes, but none of them scared DC keeper
Chris Brandau. However, after a visitor turnover the Mules took control and scored the opener through James Dalimonte. Off the ensuing faceoff MC made it 2-0 thanks to Andrew Sellitto, before Dalimonte got his second of the contest to lead 3-0 with 7:47 to go. The Red and White finally recorded their first shot with 7:15 left when
Sascha Gannon was blocked by a defender. Muhlenberg went man-down three seconds later when Aidan Murphy sat for a slash, which led to
Lee Dunn finding
Owen Porter for his firs tof the day. He then added his second 11-ticks later as
Sam Bunten picked up the
John McKee faceoff win and then fed a pass to
Evan Karetsos who setup Porter (3-2). Dickinson got back on level terms two minutes after that thanks to Dunn finishing off a dish from
Skyler Schluter. Each side tallied once more inside the opening period as Ethan Grossman and Dunn cashed in for their respective sides to leave it 4-4 through one.
A slashing call against
Seamus McCloskey resulted in Grossman ripping a shot wide, before Dalimonte completed his hat trick. After shots from
Ethan Gess and
Will Farrell did not for a save out of MC goalie Max May another DC penalty led to the sixth of the day for the Mules from Sellitto to open up a 6-4 edge at the 2:39 mark. May finally recorded his first save of the contest a minute after that when he shutdown Gess. However, the ensuing clear for Muhlenberg failed when
James Isaacson jarred the ball loose from Jonathan Taub which allowed him to pick up the rock and bury a transition goal to pull within 6-5. Dickinson would once again pull even with 7:20 remaining as Schluter found Gess for the man-up marker, while Connor Riebling sat for an offsides infraction. Brandau would make two more saves over the next minute, before Dominick Visintin reclaimed the advantage for MC. Dickinson would be granted a two-minute player-up opportunity when Sellitto was boxed for a cross-check, unfortunately the Red and White could not capitalize on the chance sending the game to the break at 7-6.
Muhlenberg had the first three shots of the third, forcing one stop from Brandau. The Devils then responded with the next four attempts with
Jack Murphy being stopped by May, while Dunn and Farrell went wide of the mark. However, the fourth time was the charm for DC as
Griffin Moore tickled the twine to knot the score 7-7 with less than four minutes gone. A giveaway by the Red and White resulted in three more MC chances with the final one coming from Jason Metz that bested Brandau for the 8-7 advantage with 6:06 off the clock.
Cole Schwartz would be the reason the Devils found the equalizer just over a minute later when he knocked the ball out of Wyatt Malia's stick leading to a groundball for
Ben Tomick and a goal by Schluter thanks to a pass from Isaacson. Schwartz's hands were all over the Devils first go-ahead goal of the day when he caused another MC miscue leading to an unassisted rip from Isaacson (9-8). Unfortunately, the Mules had a quick answer from Malia, before Schluter had a chance to reclaim the lead but was denied by May. The final five shots of the frame went to the hosts, but none of them solved Brandau.
Dickinson attempted to try and take control of the game in the opening five minutes of the fourth as
Sam Campbell, Dunn, Moore and Schluter all let shots go at May, but he had the answer for two of them preventing the Red and White from taking the lead. After a save by Brandau against his counterpart May who had ventured into the attacking zone, the Devils would breakthrough finally with 5:53 remaining when Porter finished off his hat trick. Unfortunately, for Dickinson Jack Kraemer tallied twice within a minute to bring the Mules from behind to in front 11-10 at the 11:49 mark. Schluter would task May with making one save, while Farrell missed just wide to allow the home team to see out the win.
Red Devil Leaders
Goals - Porter (3), Dunn and Isaacson (2)
Assists - Schluter (2)
Groundballs - McKee (6), Schwartz (4),
Ren LaMotte and
Xander Usich (3)
Saves - Brandau (9)
Mule Leaders
Goals - Dalimonte (3), Kraemer and Sellitto (2)
Assists - Malia (3)
Groundballs - Murphy (4)
Saves - May (9)
Next on the Field
Dickinson (5-3, 0-1 Centennial) will attempt to break their three-game skid on Wednesday when they faceoff with archrival Franklin & Marshall under the lights at Biddle Field at 7pm.
