Box Score Lafayette Hill, Pa. - (3/28/2015) – Desperate to halt a four-game losing streak, the Chestnut Hill College men's lacrosse team welcomed Dowling College to the Plymouth Whitemarsh High School football stadium for an East Coast Conference (ECC) battle this evening. Under the lights and in the crosshairs of swirling winds, the teams traded blows – literally and figuratively – for a full 60 minutes, and in a rematch of last year's ECC Tournament opening round clash, the Golden Lions held off a furious late charge to escape with a 9-8 verdict. Sophomore midfielder Justin Albarran (Freehold, N.J.) scored three man-up goals for the Griffins, who had two golden chances to tie stonewalled in the final seconds as the clock ran out on a chippy affair.
 
In a game dotted with nearly 20 minutes (19:30) of penalty time, Chestnut Hill College (2-6, 0-4) controlled play in the early going, rumbling out to a 2-0 lead thanks to unassisted tallies from junior attack Michael Plaia (Hicksville, N.Y.) (1-0, 8:31) and freshman attack Dylan Klusaritz (Slatington, Pa.), 2-0 (5:04). Unfortunately, the Griffin offense dried up as Dowling College (2-6, 1-2) rattled off five straight goals over the next 13:48. Junior midfielder Brian White (Bayport, N.Y.) had a hand in all of them, first setting up freshman midfielder Eddie Hillkewicz (Shirley, N.Y.) before scoring a goal of his own, 2-2 (1:16), and assisting on the first three strikes of the second quarter. Chestnut Hill College stole some momentum back before the half, sandwiching goals from junior attacks George Markey (Branchburg, N.J.) and Tanner Fisher (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) around another White assist to take a 6-4 deficit into the break.

Markey and Albarran found a groove after intermission, hooking up for back-to-back man-up goals, with Albarran's second bringing all things even at 6-6 with 9:44 to play in the third period. Dowling College, however, regained the upper hand with a three-goal run, the eventual winning marker coming from Hillkewicz on White's sixth assist with 14:16 remaining. The Griffins fought to the final whistle as Fisher fed Albarran for his hat trick, 9-7 (2:26) and then added another goal on the man advantage with 33 seconds remaining, 9-8. Chestnut Hill College had a chance to tie when sophomore midfielder Timothy Vilardi (Little Silver, N.J.) controlled the ensuing faceoff and a crosscheck call on the Golden Lions – their 13^th penalty of the night – gave the hosts a man-up chance with 17 ticks showing. But Dowling College sophomore goalkeeper Frank Sommers (Shirley, N.Y.) made a pair of game-saving stops, stoning shots by Klusaritz and Fisher in the final seconds to send the Griffins home empty.

White grossed seven points on his goal and six assists to lead all scorers, while Hillkewicz (assist) and junior midfielder Kevin Drane (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) each tallied hat-tricks. Junior midfielder Michael Fitzpatrick (Wantagh, N.Y.) won 12-of-20 faceoffs (60.0%) and even found the back of the net during the Golden Lions' second-quarter burst; he finished with seven ground balls. Sommers saved 12 Chestnut Hill College shots, none bigger than the last two of the night.
 
Albarran, Markey (one goal, two assists), and Fisher (two goals, one assist) led Chestnut Hill College with three points each, with Markey adding three ground balls. Kulsaritz ended on a goal and an assist, while freshman midfielder Caleb Gaeng (Crofton, Md.) handed out one of his own. Sophomore Daniel DePasquale (Livingston, N.J.) captained the defense with five ground balls and two caused turnovers, and classmate Thomas McDermott (Holmes, Pa.) totaled 11 saves (six of them in the first quarter) between the pipes.  
 
The men's lacrosse team seeks its first ECC victory of the season on Tuesday, March 31, when the Griffins welcome Mercy College to Victory Field #1 for a 4:00 p.m. faceoff.