ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley men's lacrosse team dominated the faceoff X and scored nine goals in the first quarter to earn a dominant 23-12 victory over Wilkes University on Saturday afternoon on Arnold Field in Annville.
 
It took a couple of minutes for the Flying Dutchmen (4-1) to get the offense going, but once they did, the Colonels (1-4) had trouble slowing it down. Hayden Carling scored the first goal of the game a little over three minutes in, following shots by Ryan Grace and Sam Spagnuolo, which were saved. Jacob Olson had a shot saved before he scored his first goal of the year off an assist by Rowan Myers. Ethan Keenan added a goal not even a minute later to put LVC up 3-0 as Wilkes called its first timeout with 8:55 to play in the quarter.
 
Carling scored a minute later out of the timeout for his second goal of the game. A penalty gave the Dutchmen an extra-man advantage, and the squad took advantage as Carling found Sean Poole for his first goal of the game right after the opportunity expired. Connor Rowe quickly made it 6-0 off the faceoff win for his third goal of the season. Poole and Grace scored back-to-back goals over the next minute to push the lead to eight. Poole completed his hat trick with 2:51 remaining as he scored his third goal of the quarter off an assist from Grace to put the Dutchmen up 9-0. Wilkes scored its first goal of the game with 1:35 on the clock to make it 9-1 after the first 15 minutes.
 
Wilkes scored the first goal of the second quarter to cut the deficit to 9-2. LVC responded right back as Grace scored his second goal of the game and 14th of the season. Rowe won the following faceoff and had a pair of shots saved before Olson found Poole for a goal to get the advantage back up to nine. Poole scored his fifth goal of the game a little over 20 seconds later off an assist by Grace.
 
The Dutchmen took advantage of a pair of penalties by the Colonels with two man-up goals over the next three minutes. Carling scored the first goal off a pass from Spagnuolo. Rinyak then scored his fifth goal of the year off a pass by Carling. The Colonels scored three of the final goals in the half to cut the deficit to 15-5. Myers powered his way to his ninth goal of the season for the Dutchmen with 5:08 to play in the half. Trevor Moore and Spagnuolo had shots saved in the final seconds of play.
 
It didn't take the Dutchmen long to start the scoring in the third quarter as Keenan fired a shot into the back of the crease in the first minute. Myers then added back-to-back goals, with his second goal being assisted by Carling. Poole and Grace had shots saved before the Colonels scored with 8:21 on the clock to make it 18-6.
 
 LVC went two-men down after a pair of penalties with 7:47 on the clock. That didn't stop them from scoring as Grace scored after the first penalty had expired off an assist from Connor Mulada. Wilkes answered with a goal a little over a minute later. The teams battled up and down the field over the final six minutes of the quarter, with neither team scoring, and the Dutchmen took a 19-7 advantage into the final quarter.
 
Carling and Grace had shots saved early in the fourth quarter as the Dutchmen played conservatively with a big lead to begin the quarter. The Colonels scored out of a timeout with 12:18 left to cut the deficit to 11. LVC answered right back with a pair of quick goals. Wyatt Shamer scored on a behind-the-back shot, and then Ishmael Bolorin scored his first career goal after winning the faceoff and beating every defender to the goal.
 
The Colonels countered with a goal to bring the score to 21-9 with 9:13 remaining. Neither team scored again until there were just under four minutes to play as Shamer scored his second goal of the game. The Colonels scored two goals in a row before Spagnuolo found the back of the net for his first goal of the season. Wilkes scored in the final minute. The Dutchmen won the following faceoff and held onto the ball over the final 51 seconds to close out the game.
 
Inside the Box

• LVC was dominant on faceoffs, winning 33 of 39. The 33 faceoff wins are a program record. Rowe won 23 of his 27 faceoff attempts to break the single-game program record. He also had 11 ground balls. The previous record for an individual was 21, while the team record was 26. Bolorin was 10-12 on faceoffs and had eight ground balls.
• Poole scored a career-high five goals on eight shots with six shots on goal. He recorded his second hat trick of the season and doubled his goal total. Poole also picked up four ground balls.
• Carling led the Dutchmen with six points on three goals and three assists. The senior scored his second hat trick of the year. He has at least one goal and at least one assist in every game this season.
• Grace continued his amazing start to the season with five points on three goals and two assists. The sophomore recorded his third consecutive hat trick and has 25 points in five games.
• Myers had four points for the third straight game. The junior scored his second hat trick of the year with three goals and added an assist.
• Shamer and Keenan had two goals each, while Olson and Spagnuolo had two points on one goal and one assist apiece.
• Montgomery Sensenig picked up seven ground balls and caused one turnover.
• Kellen Markley, Collin Regina, and Dominic Varacallo split time in goal and combined for five saves.
• The Dutchmen scored 20+ goals in a game for the second time this season. The 23 goals are the most in a game since they scored a program-record 25 goals last spring in a 25-4 victory at Delaware Valley.
• LVC broke the program record for shots in a game with 72. They put 49 of those shots on goal and had a 72-29 shot advantage.
• The Dutchmen won their fourth consecutive game and improved to 8-8 all-time against the Colonels. They have won the past five meetings.

Up Next
Lebanon Valley will continue its swing through the Landmark Conference on Wednesday as the Dutchmen head to Selinsgrove for a big matchup with Susquehanna University. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Sassafras Field.

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