READING, Pa. – The 16th-ranked Ursinus College men's lacrosse team won the Battle of the Beasts, defeating the Albright College Lions 17-10 on Saturday. The Bears built a quick 5-0 lead and held on to claim another non-conference road victory and their second 3-0 start in three years.

Sophomore Peter DeSimone paced the Bears attack, scoring the team's first two goals, and later added a third for a first-quarter hat trick. DeSimone found the net two more times to lead Ursinus with five scores. Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week Bobby McClure finished with a career-best six points on three goals and three assists, and fellow rookie Reagan Ketchum added three goals and his first hat-trick for Ursinus, which defeated Albright for the second straight season.

The Bears' 17 goals were their most since an 18-8 victory over Swarthmore last season. Ursinus has scored at least ten goals in its first three games for the first time since 2007. 

The Lions pounced back in the second quarter with six scores, but sophomore Brian Casey notched two for the Bears and junior Gerard Brown assisted sophomore Tim Miller for an 8-6 Ursinus halftime lead. Brown recently moved to third in assists in school history and added five helpers more at Albright. Junior Ian Desenberg matched Casey with a pair of his own in the contest.

With six more points to his ledger, Brown is just six away from 100 for his career.

The Black and Gold did not relent after the break, outscoring the Lions 9-4 in the second half. After the second-quarter outbreak, Bears sophomore goalkeeper Nick Kirk and the defense kept Albright at bay on their way to victory. Kirk made double-digit saves in back-to-back games, finishing the day with 11 stops.

The Bears put up a season-high 52 shots in the contest and held a 47-22 advantage in ground balls, with Casey and senior Matthew Cioeta scooping up eight apiece. Casey played a starring role in the victory, going 17 for 26 at the faceoff X in addition to a career-best two goals.

Cioeta moved into 10th in program history with 130 ground balls.

Ursinus is now 3-0 on the season and returns to action on Wednesday, March 8 versus Montclair State. Game time is scheduled for 4 PM.