Dambach and McDermott Draw ECC Player and Defender of the Week Awards
Central Islip, N.Y. – (2/28/2017) – Chestnut Hill College opened their 2017 season with a 17-8 weekend victory over Post University. Playing major roles in the triumph, seniors, attack Alec Dambach (Howell, N.J.) and goalkeeper Thomas McDermott (Ridley, Pa.) respectively earned the East Coast Conference (ECC) Player and Defensive Player of the Week awards. Dambach added six ground balls to his impressive nine-point (four goals and five assists) season opener while McDermott (1-0) recorded a career-high 17 saves and three ground balls.
The deciding run came in the second quarter, where Chestnut Hill College (1-0) outscored Post University (0-1) 5-0 to hold an 8-3 halftime advantage. The Griffins extended their lead to eight goals, 13-5, by the end of the third quarter and with a 4-3 edge in the final frame, they secured a 17-8 triumph in today’s season-opener opposite the Eagles.
Dambach scored the game’s first goal at 11:07 (1-0), but Post University answered with three of the next four tallies to hold a 3-2 advantage with 2:10 remaining in the first quarter. Before the frame ended, Dambach would strike for his second goal of the affair, knotting the spread at 3-3 with an unassisted score just before the one-minute (1:01) mark.
Senior midfielder Justin Albarran (Freehold, N.J.) scored the first goal of the Chestnut Hill College second-quarter monopoly, when completed a pass from senior midfielder Andrew Dooley (Monroe Township, N.J.) at 12:36 (4-3). After succeeding scores from freshman Carson Rees (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) (5-3 @ 9:35), Dooley (6-3 @ 8:52), junior attack Dylan Klusaritz (Slatington, Pa.) (7-3 @ 7:08), and Dooley (8-3 @ 6:02) again, the Griffins carried an 8-3 lead into intermission.
Dambach, Klusaritz, and freshman attack Casey Brown (Havre de Grace, Md.) made sure the Griffins’ position improved for the final frame as at least one of the trio contributed to all but one of the Scarlet and Gold goals in a 5-2 third-quarter spread. The frame left Chestnut Hill College up eight goals, 13-5, all but ensuring their victory. Post University attempted a rally with the first two goals of the fourth quarter, 13-7 (11:25), but any hopes of a comeback were quickly squashed after a three-goal, mid-quarter run that placed the Griffins ahead 16-7 with just 3:14 left to play in a 17-8 final.
The Chestnut Hill College men's lacrosse travel to Florida for their next two contests; the first is a 7:00 p.m. contest at the University of Tampa on Saturday, March 4.
