Lafayette Hill, PA – (3/6/2012) – The Chestnut Hill College men's lacrosse team opened their 2012 home schedule this afternoon with a non-conference contest against Assumption College. The Griffins protected Victory Field #1 with an 18-4 triumph, using a 6-0 first quarter lead to control the Greyhounds for the duration of the affair. Sophomore attack Mike Melnychenko (St. Catharines, Ontario) was one of six Griffins to record multiple-point performances, netting three goals and providing two assists.
 
Junior midfielder Nick Johnson (Germantown, MD) netted his first collegiate goal with 10:45 remaining in the first quarter to break the ice for Chestnut Hill College (2-1), 1-0. Only 22 seconds later (10:23), junior defenseman Tom Carfagna (Laurys Station, PA) located senior attack Kevin Festa (Auburn, NY) for to make it 2-0 Griffins. Johnson struck again at 5:03, 3-0, and by the end of the period the spread reached 6-0 with three more unanswered Griffin goals. Assumption College (0-1) finally got on the scoreboard at the start of the second quarter with freshman attack Garrett Smith (East Syracuse, NY) finishing a pass from freshman attack John Powers (Marshfield, MA), 6-1, but it was only a momentary lapse for the Griffins who extended their advantage to 9-1 by halftime. Play slowed in the second half, but the Griffins offense did not; scoring nine more goals to the Greyhounds three, they grew the deficit to 18-4 by game's end.
 
Greyhound goals came from Smith, junior midfielder Casey Marren (Derby, CT), sophomore midfielder Ian Mack (Avon, CT), and senior midfielder John Mitchell (Southington, CT), while Powers provided their only assists. Senior midfielder Tim Roy (Avon, CT) led the Greyhounds in hustle with three ground balls and two caused turnovers, while sophomore goalkeeper Matt Palubicki (Scituate, MA) (0-1) recorded seven saves and four ground balls in three quarters of play.
 
Melnychenko caused two turnovers and recovered a ground ball in addition to his offensive production. He was matched in goals by junior attack Craig Owen (Glenolden, PA), who recorded an assist, three ground balls, and two caused turnovers in addition to his three-goal game. Johnson was one of four Griffins to total two goals; Festa, sophomore midfielder Mike Landau (Lancaster, PA), and junior midfielder D.J. Klusaritz (Slatington, PA) were the others. Sophomore midfielder Sean Johnsen (Toms River, NJ) won 8-of-17 (47.1%) face-offs and he controlled four ground balls. Defensively, junior defenseman Joe Rucinsky (Camp Hill, PA) led the Griffins with four ground balls and two caused turnovers, while junior goalkeeper Dakota Maurer (Lititz, PA) earned the win (2-1) with ten saves and four ground balls.
 
The men's lacrosse team is back in action on Thursday, March 8, when they host Coker College in a 1:00 p.m. contest.