OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The 20th-ranked Ursinus Men's Lacrosse team opened its 2022 season with a 17-9 defeat on the road to No. 14 Stevenson on a cold Saturday night in non-conference action.
Playing their first non-conference game since March 2020, the Bears begin a stretch of facing four preseason nationally-ranked opponents over the next month. Meanwhile, the Mustangs snapped a two-game skid in the overall series with the Bears.
The Bears had two decent looks at the Mustangs net in the opening minutes of the first quarter, including a shot from junior Tyler Falco saved at the 12:36-mark. Stevenson had an extra-long possession in the Bears end that began with a man-up opportunity and ended with the first goal of the game at the 10:04-mark. The Mustangs quickly extended their advantage to 2-0 just 21 seconds later off a Bears turnover following a faceoff win. Senior Jerry Bardol recorded the first goal of the season for the Bears at the 6:55-mark of the first quarter off a feed from junior Jake Ojert. However, the Mustangs responded immediately to the Bears goal after a clean faceoff win and goal from Nolan Enneguess. Stevenson capped the first quarter with a goal in the final minute to take a 4-1 advantage into the second.
The Mustangs took advantage of a man-up opportunity and extended their lead to 5-1 at the 13:19-mark of the second quarter before the Bears cashed in on a man-up opportunity of their own just over three minutes later. Junior Erik Ojert snapped the Mustangs run on a second-chance opportunity following an initial save in front of the net. Stevenson took advantage of a Bears turnover to push their advantage back out to 6-2 at the 8:07-mark and senior Eric Bauer responded for Ursinus just under two minutes later to make it a 6-3 game. The Mustangs continued to have answers to any potential Bear momentum as they went up 7-3 with 5:18 left in the second quarter, but Erik Ojert tallied his second man-up goal before halftime to bring the score to 7-4.
Stevenson came out firing in the third quarter as they ripped off four-straight goals to take a commanding 11-4 advantage at the 6:37-mark. Ursinus tallied three goals in the third quarter, but all three goals were answered back from the Mustangs with goals of their own to prevent possible runs from the Bears. Falco netted the first two goals in the third quarter for the Bears before junior Jeremy Calabro registered his first collegiate goal on a man-up opportunity. Erik Ojert completed his first career hat trick in the fourth quarter and Bauer added his second goal with 3:22 left in regulation.
The Mustangs held a 57-34 advantage in shots and a 29-19 edge in shots on goal. Stevenson also held a 49-34 edge in ground balls and a small 16-14 edge in faceoff wins. The Bears turned in a strong performance on the man-up by converting four of five chances with the extra advantage. Bears senior goalkeeper Chris Porzelt suffered the loss after making 12 saves in the full 60 minutes while Mustangs goalkeeper Marc Poust earned the win with 10 saves in the full time. Erik Ojert led the Bears with three goals while Bauer and Falco posted two goals apiece. Junior Tyler Reilly added a team-high three assists for the Bears.
Ursinus returns to action on Saturday, February 26th as they will host Southern Virginia for their home opener at 12 p.m.