By Alex Kurtz, Sports editor
The Susquehanna men’s lacrosse team dropped their first Landmark Conference game 9-8 against Scranton on Saturday, April 21 on the road.
Scranton kept up immense offensive pressure the entire game. The Royals forced Susquehanna into 20 turnovers and peppered River Hawks junior goaltender Dylan Abplanalp with 41 shots. Abplanalp made 15 saves on the day.
Senior midfielder Alec Tzaneteas and junior attacker Jack Donnelly each led the River Hawks with two goals on the day.
The River Hawks got on the board first with a goal from junior midfielder Jack DiGregorio to give Susquehanna a 1-0 lead less than three minutes into game.
Scranton would be quick to respond however as they would net two goals in five minutes to take a 2-1 lead.
Before the quarter ended though, Susquehanna would retake the lead. Junior midfielder Jake Smokokoff scored the first goal, and Donnelly added the second during a man-up situation to give the River Hawks a 3-2 lead after the first quarter.
The River Hawks would pick up right where they left off in the second quarter with a goal in the first minute. Junior midfielder Louis Pillari put one past Scranton goalkeeper Jeffery Sabatini off of an assist from junior midfielder Travis Belt to push the lead to 4-2.
After another Scranton goal, senior attacker Andrew Porzio and Gerrity would add two more goals before the half would end. Scranton would score one more time, and the River Hawks took a 6-4 lead into halftime.
Susquehanna would struggle though on offense in the second half of play.
Scranton would score two more times while blanking the River Hawks to tie the game at six going into the final quarter of regulation.
Donnelly scored first for Susquehanna in the quarter thanks to an assist from Gerrity just 1:29 into the quarter.
The Royals would not go down quietly though as they would net two more goals to retake the lead 8-7.
Tzaneteas would tie the game once again for the River Hawks off a pass from Smolokoff, but it would be the last score of the game for Susquehanna.
Scranton would put a shot past Abplanalp with 5:50 remaining in the game for the final score of the game.
With the loss, Susquehanna fell to 10-6 on the season and suffered their first loss in Landmark Conference play (4-1). Scranton improved to 10-5 and 4-2 in the conference.
Susquehanna returns to action for their regular-season finale against conference-foe Drew. It will also be Senior Day for the River Hawks where five seniors will be honored before the game.