Six second quarter goals broke a 3-3 tie as the Chestnut Hill College Men's Lacrosse team came away with a 13-9 win over Caldwell university Saturday afternoon at the Kiwanis Oval in West Caldwell, New Jersey.
The win clinched a playoff spot for the Griffins in the upcoming Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament. This marks the seventh straight year the Griffins, who won the conference tournament every year since 2021, have qualified for the playoffs. Chestnut Hill improved to 6-4 overall and 5-1 in CACC contests and are now tied for second place in the league standings.
Noah Hammon scored five goals and assisted on three others to lead the Griffins with eight points. Sam Slater scored four times and also assisted on three others for a total of seven points. Mick Kilgallon added two goals and an assist while Jake Ballerini had two goals
Slater, Sam Koehler and Thomas Gallagher led Chestnut Hill with four ground balls apiece while Koehler recorded three caused turnovers. Adam Daley made five saves in goal.
The Cougars jumped out to an early 3-1 lead with three scores in the first 5:33 of the game. Hammon then scored the first two of his five goals, with Slater assisting on both to even the score at 3-3 with 3:54 left. In the opening quarter.
The Griffins outscored the Cougars 6-0 in the second quarter to take a commanding 9-3 lead at halftime. Ballerini started the run with an unassisted goal at the 13:57 mark while Slater followed with his second of the game at 12:43 with an assist from Hammon. Kilgallon gave the Griffins a 6-3 lead with an unassisted goal at the 10:30 mark, before Hammon exploded for three goals in the 6:04 to round out the second quarter scoring. Kilgallon assisted on the first two while Will Duddy earned the assist on Hammon's final goal with 1:04 left in the quarter.
Caldwell came back with two goals to start the third period scoring and cut the Griffins' lead to 9-5. Duddy broke the host's momentum with a score with 4:15 left in the third quarter as Slater garnered the assist to make the score 10-5.  Caldwell added two more goals while Slater scored with 24 seconds left in the quarter as Chestnut Hill held an 11-7 lead heading into the final period.
Ballerini's goal at the 13:36 mark put the Griffins up by five 12-7 but CU's Zakkery Glatfelter tallied the last two of his five goals on the day, closing the gap to 12-9 with 7:18 left. Slater scored his fourth goal of the game, this time with the Griffins a man-up,  in the final minute with Hammon getting the assist to make the final score 13-9.
The men's lacrosse team returns to action on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, when they host first place Wilmington University at Victory Field. First faceoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
