Michael Elefonte	Adam Drury	Conor Carey

Box score

The University of Scranton men's lacrosse team staged a furious second-half comeback, rallying after a scoreless first half to pull even, but could not get over the final hurdle in what would eventually be an 8-7 loss to Elizabethtown in a Landmark Conference game on Thursday night.

The Royals (6-5, 2-2) trailed at halftime, 4-0, but pulled within 6-4 at the end of three periods. The Royals scored twice to open the fourth and tie the game at 6 before Elizabethtown (10-3, 5-0 Landmark) regained an 8-6 lead midway through the fourth, but Scranton rallied with a man-up goal with just under three minutes left. But, two Royals shots in the final minutes were saved and the Blue Jays escaped with the win.

Scranton was led by freshman midfielder Michael Elefonte (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon), who had three goals. Senior midfielder William Joyce (Bethesda, Md./St. John's), junior attackman Casey Green (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) and freshman midfielders Joe Hill (South Hempstead, N.Y./South Side) and Peter Roche (Chester, N.J./Mendham) had one goal each.

Junior midfielder Conor Carey (Long Beach, N.Y./Chaminade) finished with two assists, and sophomore attackman Tim Dolan (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) and freshman attackman Quinn Killeen (Berkeley Heights, N.J./New Providence) both had an assist.

Despite playing without three of their top four goal scorers, who are out with injury and illness, the Royals held a 32-27 edge in shots. Joyce took a team-high 10 shots while Elefonte was next with six.

Scranton also held a dominant edge in the faceoff circle as junior midfielder Adam Drury (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) went 17-for-18. Drury and Carey tied for the team lead with six ground balls each as the Royals held a slim 34-32 edge in that category.

Scranton committed 20 turnovers, but 11 of those came in the first period when the Royals fell behind 3-0. Elizabethtown finished with 12 for the game. Carey was the lone Royal with two caused turnovers.

Senior goalkeeper Alex Malecki (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) was the tough-luck loser in goal, making eight saves.

The Royals will be back in action on Wednesday, April 19, when they host Drew in a Landmark Conference game at 7 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Field.

--ROYALS--