SCRANTON, Pa. – Junior Christopher Crapanzano (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) scored five goals and The University of Scranton men's lacrosse team (1-0) used a big second half to roll past Marywood (1-1) in a 20-5 victory over the Pacers on a windy Wednesday afternoon at Weiss Field in Scranton.

In their 2022 season opener, the Royals led 7-3 at halftime before scoring the first four goals of the third quarter to pull away from Marywood.

Things were tied at one apiece midway through the first quarter when Crapanzano netted his first of the day at the 4:40 mark to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. This started a five goal run for the Royals capped by Crapanzano's third of the day with 9:56 to play in the second quarter to make it a 6-1 game for the time being. Junior Oliver Lay (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Ludlowe) added a goal later on in the quarter and head coach Michael Hofmeister's squad took a 7-3 lead into the locker room.

Senior Cole Lukasiewicz (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) opened the scoring for Scranton just over a minute into the third quarter and this was where the Royals were able to pull away from the Pacers. Crapanzano and senior Finn Duignan (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) both added goals during a four goal run that was capped by a tally from sophomore Seamus O'Callaghan (Bethpage, N.Y./Chaminade) to extend the lead to 11-3 with 8:18 to play in the third quarter. Marywood was unable to get any closer than seven goals the rest of the way and the Royals held them scoreless over the final 15 minutes en route to the 20-5 victory.

Led by Crapanzano's career-high five goals, Scranton featured a balanced attack offensively as four other players scored two goals apiece in Lay, Lukasiewicz, senior Sean Crotty (Long Beach, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) and sophomore Matthew McAree (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset). 

McAree and senior Colin Pierce (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) both added five ground balls in the victory, while the latter along with sophomore Andrew Lord (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) both caused a pair of turnovers.

John Scibello notched four of Marywood's five goals on the afternoon.

The University of Scranton men's lacrosse team continues their season-opening four-game homestand on Saturday afternoon as they welcome 2021 NCAA runner-up Salisbury to Weiss Field with action getting underway at 1 p.m.

--ROYALS--