Connor Kirkwood	Joe Hill
Michael Elefonte	Michael Hofmeister

Box score

EDWARDSVILLE, Pa. -- The University of Scranton men's lacrosse team used a strong defensive effort and a big second period to post a 14-5 win in the team's season opener at Wilkes on Wednesday.

The victory is the first for head coach Michael Hofmeister, who took over the program in the offseason after serving as an assistant at Roanoke and York.
Scranton (1-0) took a commanding 9-2 halftime lead by holding the Colonels (0-1) to just one goal in each of the first two periods. The Royals broke the game open with six second-period goals from six different players.

Sophomore attackman Connor Kirkwood (Millburn, N.J./St. Peter's Prep) and sophomore midfielder Joe Hill (South Hempstead, N.Y./South Side) had three goals each to lead the Royals. Hill scored twice in the big first half and Kirkwood rippled the twine twice after halftime as Scranton put the game away.

Sophomore midfielder Michael Elefonte (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon) also had a big game with two goals and two assists. His afternoon included the first goal of the 2018 season when he scored 3:46 into the game on an assist from senior midfielder Conor Carey (Long Beach, N.Y./Chaminade).

The Royals also received goals from senior midfielder Brendan McLaughlin (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City), senior midfielder Casey Green (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius), sophomore attackman Quinn Killeen (Berkeley Heights, N.J./New Providence), sophomore midfielder Peter Roche (Chester, N.J./Mendham) and freshman midfielder Jalen Holmes (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan).

Carey finished with a pair of assists while junior attackman Tim Dolan (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) added one.

Senior goalkeeper Jeff Sabatini (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield) had nine saves to pick up the win between the pipes.

Senior midfielder Adam Drury (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) went 17-for-20 in the faceoff circle and had a team-high five ground balls. Elefonte added four ground balls of his own and had a team-high three caused turnovers.

The men's lacrosse team will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 17, when they host Marywood in the home opener at 1 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Field.

--ROYALS--