KEUKA PARK, N.Y. — The Keuka College Men's Lacrosse team earned their first win of the season, defeating Thiel College 16-8, on Saturday afternoon at the Jephson Community Athletic Complex.
Devon Gerhardt led all players with nine points as the sophomore scored four goals and added five assists for Keuka College (1-1, 0-0 Empire 8).
Brandon MacDonell set a new career-high with six goals. Freshman
Kyle Murphy also had six points, scoring his first collegiate goal and adding five assists.
Keuka College 16 vs. Thiel College 8
Thiel College jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead 81 seconds into the game on Saturday, but Keuka College would settle in. Taking advantage of an extra-man opportunity,
Nicholas Pipher opened the scoring for the Wolves.
Matt Jerman tied the game and
Robert Hill gave Keuka the lead as the long-pole scored a man-down goal to make it 3-2. The Wolves would lead 4-2 after one.
The Wolves created separation in the second quarter. A pair of MacDonell goals opened the scoring for Keuka, and a pair of goals by Gerhardt closed the frame. That sandwiched Pipher's second and the first collegiate goal for
Kyle Murphy.
Dylan Hoad made five stops in net as the Wolves pitched a shutout in the second quarter to lead 10-2 at the half.
Momentum stayed with Keuka as Gerhardt and MacDonell alternated goals in the third quarter. Thiel would break through with a pair, snapping a 38-minute goalless run.
Brandon MacDonell slowed the Tomcat surge with his sixth goal of the game as the Wolves led 15-4 after three.
Thiel College outscored the Wolves 4-1 in the fourth, but the game was in hand. Keuka's goal came from
Dylan DeLucia. Minutes after scoring, DeLucia was called into emergency duty in goal due to a penalty. The junior recorded a save and did not surrender a goal in his two minutes of action between the pipes. The Wolves saw the game out to earn their first victory of the season.
KC Notes:
- Saturday was the first meeting between the Wolves and Tomcats in men's lacrosse. Thiel is the 59th different opponent for Keuka College in the 35 seasons of the program
- Devon Gerhardt set a new career high in goals, assists, and total points
- Dylan Hoad finished with 13 saves in goal
- Brandon MacDonell set a new career-high in goals and tied his high in total points
- Stephen Baier went 16-23 at the faceoff spot. As a team, Keuka College won two-thirds of the faceoffs, finishing the game 18-27
- To go with his man-down goal, Robert Hill had a strong game defensively with eight ground balls and three caused turnovers
- Zach Moyer led the Wolves with four caused turnovers on Saturday
Up Next for Keuka College: The Green and Gold remain at home this week as Keuka College will host Juniata College at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14. It will be the first time that the Wolves and Eagles will face each other in men's lacrosse.