Stevenson 9, Lebanon Valley 7

LVC Starters
Warmingham, Bushong, Beaver, Weaver, Croyle, Wagner, Campbell, Hoff, Epple (GK)

Stevenson Starters
McKee, Kosco, Thelen, Brown, Christensen, Burnette, Howard, Tatum, Faecher, Ross (GK)

How It Happened
ANNVILLE, Pa. – A big second half by Stevenson helped the Mustangs squeak past Lebanon Valley 9-7 on Wednesday night in MAC Commonwealth men's lacrosse action. The Dutchmen fell to 7-6, 2-3 MACC and Stevenson improved to 8-6, 5-0 MACC.

LVC put together an impressive first half and put the Mustangs on their heels. Alex Bushong scored the game's first goal at 8:29 of the first off an assist from Matt Torrence, but Stevenson responded with a pair of goals at 6:44 and 6:38 of the first to take a 2-1 advantage. From there, the Dutchmen rattled off three straight scores to end the first quarter, beginning with Kevin Beaver's unassisted goal at 5:03, followed by Torrence's score at 3:17. Josh Croyle finished off LVC's run when he scored from Mason Hoff to give the Dutchmen a 4-2 lead after one period of play.

Hoff helped LVC pick up where it left off in the first when he netted the second quarter's first goal at 10:29, but the Mustangs' Danny Buckwalter brought Stevenson to within two with a goal at 9:18. Beaver quickly shut down the Mustangs' brief momentum and put the Dutchmen back up by three at 6-3 at 7:36, and from there LVC's stout defense shut down Stevenson for the remainder of the quarter and took a 6-3 advantage into halftime.

It seemed that the Mustangs took advantage of the halftime break and Stevenson outscored the Dutchmen 3-0 in the third quarter to tie the game at 6-6 heading into the fourth and final quarter. Harrison Faecher broke the 6-6 tie with 13:45 left when he scored from Jacob Tatum, and with 3:02 left, Buckwalter put the visitors ahead 8-6, followed by another score from Faecher at 1:32. Hoff netted another goal with eight seconds left, but the clock ran out on LVC and the Dutchmen fell 9-7.

Inside the Numbers
 - Beaver and Hoff finished with two goals apiece, while Hoff registered two assists and Beaver finished with one.
 - Cameron Epple was impressive in net and kept the game close for LVC. He finished with 17 saves and scooped up six ground balls.
 - Also on the defensive side, Coleman Wagner picked up three ground balls and caused a turnover.
 - Continuing with the defense theme, Blake Weaver picked up two ground balls and caused a team-high two turnovers.
 - Faecher led the Mustangs with three goals on 10 shots, while Buckwalter finished with a pair of scores.
 - Stevenson outshot LVC 42-37 and also led in shots on goal at 26-20.
 - The Dutchmen went 18-for-23 in clears and the Mustangs were 13-for-15.
 - Stevenson led in total ground balls at 41-24.
 - LVC played a penalty-free game, while the Mustangs were whistled for four infractions.

Who's Next?
The Dutchmen host Widener in LVC's regular-season home finale on Saturday at 1 p.m.

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