Box Score Lakewood, N.J. – (4/29/2018) – The inaugural Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men's Lacrosse Championship took place this afternoon at Georgian Court University, where #2 Chestnut Hill College took on the top-seeded Lions for the league crown. The highly competitive contest reached the fourth quarter in a 6-6 deadlock, there Georgian Court University stole an early two goal lead, 8-6 (8:01), before a concluding exchange of tallies left final in the Lions' favor, 9-7.

2018 CACC Men's Lacrosse Championship Photo Gallery
 
The opening quarter saw three-goal runs for both Georgian Court University (11-6) and Chestnut Hill College (7-10), as the Lions built a 3-0 (8:20) lead before the Griffins responded with three unanswered goals of their own. The first Griffin goal was an unassisted score from senior attack Dylan Klusaritz (Slatington, Pa.) at 7:24, 3-1, the second was a man-up connection between freshman attack J.R. Howell (East Meadow, N.Y.) and senior midfielder Joshua Pope (Schnecksville, Pa.) at 6:0, 3-2, and the third was an unassisted score from junior midfielder John Bennett (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) at 5:55, 3-3. Georgian Court University responded to the Scarlet and Gold's late first-quarter surge with the first two goals of the second quarter, 5-3. But thanks to a last-second (0:05) tally from senior midfielder Gerard Lyle (Baldwin, N.Y.), Chestnut Hill College was able to cut the deficit to a single goal, 5-4, for halftime.
 
Early in the third quarter (12:18), sophomore attack Scott Wilden (Wexford, Pa.) evened the contest, 5-5, however the competitive play saw Georgian Court University reassume the lead, 6-5 (8:47), before a pass from Pope to Lyle knotted the contest once more, 6-6 (2:03). In the end the final 15 minutes decided the fate of the championship. The Lions struck first at 11:32, 7-6, and added to their edge with another tally just before the eight-minute mark, 8-6 (8:01). Three minutes later, a Georgian Court University penalty proved costly as Kulsartiz gave the Griffins hope with a man-up goal at 5:38, 8-7. Unfortunately, the Lions endured the Scarlet and Gold's rallying efforts, adding an insurance goal, 9-7 (1:23), in the final minutes of play.

Senior Michael Saladino (Springfield, N.J.) and sophomore attack Tanner Lee (Boyertown, Pa.) scored three goals apiece for Georgian Court University, but the former was the Lions top performer with six points (3 goals, 3 assists) in all. He also recorded five ground balls and caused three turnovers. Three other recorded a goal apiece, while senior midfielder Jeffrey Garatola (Jackson, N.J.) offered two assists, six ground balls, and two caused turnovers. In goal, sophomore Austin Geissel (Pompton Plains, N.J.) (11-5) totaled 16 saves, two ground balls, and a caused turnover.
 
For Chestnut Hill College, Klusaritz added four ground balls to his two tallies and Lyle offered a ground ball and a caused turnover to his. Sophomore Blake Turner (Tampa, Fla.) did the best he could to keep the Scarlet and Gold in possession of the ball with 14 (14-of-18, .778) faceoff wins and four ground ball. In front of senior goalkeeper Matthew Pedrick (New Milford, N.J.) (6-10), junior Matthew Anderson (Yardley, Pa.) was the Griffins top defensive performer with two ground balls and three caused turnovers. Pedrick recorded five ground balls in addition to his 11 saves. Junior attack Casey Brown (Havre de Grace, Md.), Howell, and Klusaritz were recognized with all-tournament honors.
 
The Chestnut Hill College men's lacrosse team finishes 2018 at 7-10 overall and 3-2 in league play.