GLENSIDE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley men's lacrosse team took a big step towards qualifying for the postseason with a huge 9-7 victory over host Arcadia University on Wednesday evening at Jean Lenox West Field in Glenside.
 
The victory was the Dutchmen's first over Arcadia since 2018, snapping a three-game losing skid. It also moved LVC up to third place in the conference standings with one game remaining. The win also gave the Dutchmen their 12th victory of the year, tying a program record for victories in a season. LVC (12-4, 4-2 MAC Freedom) went 12-7 in 2013, which is the last time the Dutchmen have played in a conference semifinal.
 
Dylan Rinyak gave the team an early lead as he scored off a pass from Hayden Carling just under two minutes into the game, as LVC took advantage of the first penalty of the game. The Knights (10-6, 4-2 MAC Freedom) tied the score a couple of minutes later after causing a failed clear attempt. The teams battled up and down the field as Rowan Myers and Ryan Grace had shots saved. The Knights took a 2-1 lead with seven minutes left in the quarter.
 
Connor Rowe won the next faceoff and had a shot saved. Sean Poole hit the post, and then Rinyak missed high. The Dutchmen continued to pepper the net as Ethan Keenan and Wyatt Shamer had shots saved. Myers put a shot high, and Grace had a shot saved in the final minute of the quarter as the Knights were able to hold on to a 2-1 lead despite getting outshot 13-11 in the first 15 minutes.
 
The first few minutes of the second quarter were a battle between the teams, with neither team able to score. Myers had a pair of shots saved before Arcadia scored to take a 3-1 advantage with 9:53 left in the half. LVC responded right back as they scored a minute later, as Sam Spagnuolo connected with Carling for his 21st goal of the year. Brayden Brown tied the score a little over a minute later with his 16th goal of the season. Arcadia answered with a goal to retake the lead at 4-3 with 6:38 to play in the half. Both teams locked down on defense, and the Dutchmen had only three shots on goal the rest of the quarter as Jacob Olson, Rinyak, and Brown had shots saved.
 
Arcadia came out of the break and scored the first goal of the second half, 5:33 into the third quarter, to go back up by two goals. LVC struck back right away as Connor Mulada scored his first career goal off an assist by Rinyak to cut the deficit to 5-4 with 8:46 on the clock. Rinyak and Grace had shots saved as the Dutchmen looked to score the tying goal. That goal came with 3:34 remaining as Shamer found Grace open for his 46th goal of the year. The momentum continued to shift in the Dutchmen's favor as Brown had a shot saved. Shamer put a shot wide in the final minutes before Olson found Shamer open for his 10th career goal to give LVC a 6-5 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Ish Bolorin won the opening faceoff of the final quarter and had his shot blocked. A few minutes later, Myers gave the Dutchmen some space with his 22nd goal off an assist by Keenan to make it a two-goal game. Arcadia pressed for a goal as Kellen Markley made a pair of saves over the next few minutes. The Knights were able to break through with a man-up goal to cut the lead in half at 7-6 with 9:31 remaining. LVC countered with a pair of shots by Poole that were saved before Carling snuck a shot into the goal for his second of the game.
 
Arcadia answered back with just over six minutes on the clock with a goal to bring the advantage back to one. LVC won the next faceoff on a violation and called a timeout to set up a play. The play worked as Brown scored for the second time in the game to make it 9-7 with five minutes left. Arcadia pushed to score over the final five minutes, but the defense held strong with Markley making a pair of saves, including one with 29 seconds left.
 
Inside the Box

• Carling led the team with three points on two goals and one assist. The senior recorded a multi-goal game for the sixth time this season.
• Brown scored two goals on six shots and had three ground balls. He has scored in the past six games.
• Shamer and Rinyak recorded one goal and one assist each. Shamer has recorded multi-point games in the past three wins, while Rinyak scored his 10th goal of the season.
• Bolorin won seven of 11 faceoff attempts and had two ground balls.
• Rowe caused two turnovers and had one ground ball with three faceoff wins.
• Nick Gleason led the defense with four ground balls.
• Markley made 13 saves and picked up four ground balls.
• Sheadan Makosy and Connor Sample had three ground balls each.

Up Next
The Dutchmen will finish the regular season on the road with a trip up to Dallas on Saturday to face Misericordia University. The opening faceoff against the Cougars is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Mangelsdorf Field. The Dutchmen will need to defeat Misericordia to secure the program's first postseason appearance since 2021.

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