Steve Apicella	Collin Purdy

Box Score

SELINSGROVE, Pa. - The University of Scranton men's lacrosse team waited patiently to play their first game of the 2021 season and sure enough, the Royals made the most of it, racing out to a 15-2 halftime lead on their way to a 25-6 drubbing of Susquehanna on Wednesday afternoon in Landmark Conference action.

Scranton (1-0, 1-0 Landmark), who had not played a match since March 7, 2020, before today's contest, never missed a beat the entire match on their way to scoring 25 goals, their most ever in a Landmark Conference contest, and most in a contest since a 25-1 win over King's on March 31, 1999. The 19-goal differential over Susquehanna (0-3, 0-1 Landmark) was also the most ever in a Landmark match for Scranton, as well.

Here are some highlights from today's record-breaking win for the Royals.

• The game started out fast for Scranton, as the Royals scored three goals in the first five minutes of play and never let up, opening a 10-1 lead at the end of one. The goals kept coming for Scranton in the second quarter, as they ballooned the lead out to 15-2 at halftime.
• The second half was academic for the Royals, as they continued to outscore the River Hawks, scoring five goals, apiece, in both the third and fourth quarters.
• It was a balanced scoring day across the stat sheet for Scranton. Junior Steve Apicella (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) led the charge, scoring four goals.
• Five different Royals had hat tricks in the victory. They were - juniors Cole Lukasiewicz (Havertown, Pa./Haverford), Sean Crotty (Long Beach, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial), Finn Duignan (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh), and Mike Bouhall (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook), along with sophomore Christopher Crapanzano (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge).
• The following Royals filled out the scoring sheet in the win with one goal, apiece - sophomore Oliver Lay (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe), senior Brian Dignen (Chester Springs, Pa./Downingtown East), senior Collin Purdy (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough), sophomore Riley Langen (Easton, Pa./Moravian Acad.), sophomore Jonathan Bernardez (Bronx, N.Y./Wooster School) and freshman Matthew McAree (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset).
• In the assists column, Bouhall led the way with three, while McAree had two in his first collegiate game.
• Purdy had a dominant game in face-offs, winning 28 (out of 34) while scooping up 16 ground balls, a team-high. Lukasiewicz, meanwhile, had 3 caused turnovers to lead Scranton in that category at the game's end.
• In net, senior Shayne Fallon (West Deptford, N.J./West Deptford) earned the victory after making three saves on the afternoon (in 45 minutes of action).

Up Next

The Royals host their first home game of the season at Weiss Field Saturday, as Scranton hosts Catholic in a Landmark Conference showdown. Opening face-off is set for 2:30 p.m.

--ROYALS--