COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Despite a huge offensive performance from Bobby McClure and the record-breaking efforts of Aiden Baltz, the Ursinus College men's lacrosse team could not hang with No. 5 Cabrini in a 19-12 non-conference loss.
McClure pumped in a career-high five goals – including the team's first four – and Baltz set a new school standard with 14 ground balls from his faceoff spot, but the Bears (1-5) were unable to slow Matt LoParo and the high-powered Cavaliers, who remained unbeaten at 6-0. Freshman Hakan Atillasoy registered his first career hat trick in defeat.
McClure was unstoppable in the first half, and for much of the afternoon was all that kept the Bears within shouting distance of the prolific Cavaliers. After Cabrini jumped out to a 4-0 first-quarter lead on the strength of a natural hat trick from Timmy Brooks, McClure got Ursinus on the board by finishing a bullet pass from sophomore Joe Donnelly in front of the crease with 36.7 ticks remaining in the period.
McClure had an answer for the next two Cavalier goals with a pair of spectacular plays. He leapt to his full extension to snare a pass from junior Peter DeSimone and fire past Cabrini goalie Riley White, then came around the net for a quick strike to cut the Blue and White lead to 6-3 at the 11:29 mark of the second.
LoParo got going for the Cavaliers from there, sandwiching a pair of wraparound goals around a tough finish by Jordan Krug – the US Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Player of the Year – to stretch the lead back out to 9-3. McClure stopped the bleeding with another highlight-reel effort, going low to corral DeSimone's dish and putting a low shot into the back of the cage. LoParo scored twice more around a pin-point tally by senior Lou Harrison to take an 11-5 advantage into halftime.
McClure went around the left post for a shot to the top corner of the net for his fifth goal, making it 12-6 at the 10:12 mark of the third quarter. Cabrini, however, ran off five straight to open up a 17-6 lead with 11:57 left in the fourth.
The Bears tallied six goals in the final frame, several of them coming in close succession. Baltz scored off a loose ball for his second of the season, and Donnelly registered his first of the year at the 8:40 mark. Just 33 seconds later, Atillasoy netted the first of his three for the period to make it 17-9.
DeSimone fed Atillasoy for another with 5:22 to go, then scored himself on a left-handed laser off a pass from freshman Joe Mercurio 33 ticks after that. Atillasoy grabbed another just inside the final minute for his first hat trick.
LoParo rang up seven goals and two assists for Cabrini, which got five from Krug to go with three goals and two assists out of Brooks. Starting goalkeeper Riley White finished with 15 saves to keep the Bears at arm's length.
The shots were even for the game at 41 apiece, and both teams went 0-for-3 on the man-up. Ursinus held a 38-37 edge in ground balls, forced 19 turnovers to 15 of its own, and won 19 faceoffs to the Cavaliers' 15.
McClure's career-best five goals came in just over a half of play, while DeSimone, fresh off logging his 100th career point earlier in the week, fell one shy of his career best with three assists. Baltz' 14 ground balls surpassed Shawn Caven's former program record of 13 from the 2013 season.
Junior Nick Kirk had five saves between the pipes, and classmate Elliott Shevitz made three after entering for the second half.
The Bears open Centennial Conference play at home against No. 3 Gettysburg next Saturday.