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Finishing Flurry Rallies Men's Lacrosse Past Red Hawks

Finishing Flurry Rallies Men's Lacrosse Past Red Hawks

MONTCLAIR, N.J. – Embroiled in a fourth-quarter deadlock, the Ursinus College men's lacrosse team found another gear over the final ten minutes, reeling off five unanswered goals to wrest a 12-7 victory from host Montclair State on an unseasonably warm afternoon in northern New Jersey. Senior midfielder Colin Sullivan proved an unexpected hero, with his first goal of the season – and only the second of his career – serving as the game-winner in the Bears' late flurry.

Ursinus (3-1) took a 7-5 lead into the final frame, only for Montclair State (1-4), which opened the season ranked No. 20 in Division III, to pull even with back-to-back tallies. But Sullivan cashed in on a feed from fellow senior Steve Mussoline, giving the Bears a lead they would never relinquish.

Just over a minute after Sullivan's go-ahead strike, junior Conor Fitzgerald doubled the advantage with an unassisted marker, and Mussoline set up classmate Logan Panaccione for a man-up strike with 6:26 to play, extending the Ursinus lead to 10-7. Sophomore Gerard Brown assisted on a pair of insurance tallies over the final four minutes – one to senior Tucker Noel and the other to junior Matthew Cioeta – to cap the Bears' impressive finishing stroke.

Brown and fellow sophomore Ian Desenberg registered five points each for the Bears, with the former getting his on four assists and a goal and the latter going off for a career high-tying four goals and a helper. Brown has handed out at least two assists in every game this season and leads the Centennial Conference with 13.

Cioeta potted a career-best two goals to go with two ground balls and a caused turnover for Ursinus, while Panaccione and Noel offered a goal and an assist each. Fitzgerald recorded his second multi-goal effort of the year, and Mussoline dished out two assists.

Brady Wulster had a hat-trick and Brett Mangan added two goals and two assists for the Red Hawks, who seized their only lead at 5-4 with 10:00 to play in the second quarter before two Desenberg goals only 51 seconds apart sent the Bears into intermission with a 6-5 lead.

The finishing flourish stretched the margin of an evenly played affair. Ursinus held the slightest of advantages in shots (32-31), while Montclair State won the ground ball (25-23) and faceoff (12-10) battles. The Red Hawks committed 18 turnovers to 13 for the Bears.

Ursinus cashed in on three of its four man-up opportunities, Desenberg accounting for two of those goals in his best performance as a Bear.

Senior Anthony Torello grabbed a team-high four ground balls for Ursinus, matching the total set forth by classmate James Fairchild, who was 10-for-18 at the X. Nine different players recorded a caused turnover.

Senior Brian Neff finished with six saves for the Bears, who fell out of the national poll after last weekend's loss to Frostburg State but made a strong case for re-entry with an impressive triumph at a formerly ranked foe.

Ursinus concludes a three-game road swing at Elizabethtown on Saturday, March 12.