Senior attacker J.R. Howell became the first men's lacrosse player in the history of the Chestnut Hill College Men's Lacrosse program to record 100 career assists while freshman Liam McCann scored five times as the Griffins fell to nationally ranked Mercyhurst University 17-9 Saturday at Victory Field #1 in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania.

The Griffins fall to 4-5 overall while Mercyhurst, ranked #7 in the most recently USILA poll, improved to 5-2.

Already the program's all-time assist leader, Howell (East Meadow, N.Y.) entered the game two assists shy of the 100-assist milestone.  After scoring the Griffins' first goal midway through the opening quarter, Howell recorded his first assist on McCann's (Edmonton, Alberta) man-up goal, just 13 seconds into the second quarter.  Howell reached the coveted milestone one period later, assisting on Nate Matthews' goal at the 13:52 mark of the third period.

McCann recorded his fifth straight multiple goal game and his second five-goal game of the season with four goals in the second half (three were unassisted) to add to his man-up goal in the second quarter.  Nate Matthews (Rancho Murieta, Calif.) added a goal and an assist while Mike Smith (Center Valley, Pa.) and Zach Jastrzebski (Hackettstown, N.J.) also scored for the Griffins.

Austin Jones (Courtice, Ontario) recorded nine saves in goal while Zach Schultz (Selbyville, Del.) led the team with four ground balls.  Howell, McCann, Kyle Gartenmayer (Holland, Pa.) and Chase Snyder (Millsboro, Del) had two caused turnovers apiece.

The Lakers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first 4:22 of the game.  Howell's goal cut the lead to 4-1 but Mercyhurst added three more goals before the end of the quarter to lead 7-1.

McCann's second period opener was the Griffins' lone goal in the third as Mercyhurst expanded their lead to 11-2 at the break.

Both teams scored three times in the third quarter with the Lakers answering each Griffin goal with one of their own to maintain their nine-goal lead 14-5 heading into the final quarter.  Matthews opened the scoring for Chestnut Hill while McCann had the other two goals.

A Mercyhurst goal by Ethan Landimore (4 goals, 1 assist) gave the Lakers a double digit lead 15-5 early in the final quarter.  The Griffins answered with three straight goals, one by Jastrzebski and two from McCann to pull within seven 15-8 with 5:20 left.  Mercyhurst then shifted the momentum back their way over the next two minutes with a pair of quick goals to push their lead up to nine again 17-8.   Smith added an unassisted goal with 2:04 left to round out the scoring.

Bryce Johnson led Mercyhurst with five goals and six assists.  Brett Olney had 11 saves in goal for the Lakers.

The Chestnut Hill Men's lacrosse team opens conference play at Felician University on Friday April 1, 2022.  First faceoff is set for noon.