COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Gerard Brown made sure the Ursinus men's lacrosse team kicked off the 2016 season in style.
The sophomore midfielder exploded for career highs of three goals and five assists to spark the No. 13 Bears (1-0) to a 14-6 triumph over visiting Albright (0-1). Seniors Logan Panaccione and Tucker Noel also registered hat-tricks for Ursinus, which won its seventh straight season opener on a beautiful afternoon at Patterson Field.
Brown, whose eight points were the most in a single game since Anthony Tori had nine against Moravian in 2007, needed just over a minute to dent the scoreboard, an unassisted marker that staked the Bears to an early lead. The sophomore then assisted on tallies by seniors Rob Dewey and Mike Durst that bookended a strike from Albright's James Egleston.
Senior James Fairchild netted his second career goal off the ensuing faceoff, giving Ursinus two scores in a seven-second span. The Lions answered, but Brown connected with Panaccione and Noel finished off a feed from junior Matthew Cioeta to open up a 6-2 margin.
Leading 6-3 at halftime, the Bears rattled off four unanswered goals out of the break to put it away. Freshman Sam Isola opened his collegiate account with an unassisted strike before Noel and Panaccione found the back of the net just 13 seconds apart. Senior Patrick O'Donoghue tallied his fifth career goal, an unassisted marker that made it 10-3 late in the third.
Brown scored twice more in the fourth quarter to polish off his first career hat-trick, and Panaccione got his on a helper from Brown with 3:22 to play.
Ursinus enjoyed a 39-22 advantage in shots and a 24-14 edge in ground balls, with Fairchild scooping up five of them. The senior specialist won 11 of 18 at the X, and junior Steve Palo was 4-for-6.
Senior Anthony Torello and Isola notched an assist apiece, and Torello added three ground balls to match Cioeta and sophomore Connor Ream.
In addition to his goal, O'Donoghue led all players with three caused turnovers and picked up a ground ball. Torello supported the defensive effort by causing a pair of turnovers. Senior goalkeeper Brian Neff made six of his seven saves in the second half to pick up the win.
Noel's hat-trick was the first of his career.
Ryan Aler stopped 11 shots for the Lions, who received goals from six different players. Cam Cetrone, Derek Stump, and Matthew Lomady all added an assist, and James Lettieri finished with six ground balls.
The Bears play a rare second February home game next Saturday, February 27, against Mary Washington.