Men's Lacrosse Uses Huge Third Quarter to Notch 9-5 Victory over Leb Val

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Widener exploded in the third quarter for five goals and the defense did its job in the second half for a 9-5 Commonwealth Conference victory over Lebanon Valley at Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium.

The Pride's run began late in the second quarter when senior Johnny Casey (Glenside, PA) scored a man-up goal with 3:02 left for a 4-3 halftime deficit.

But that was just the beginning of what would be a six-goal run for Widener. It continued 1:09 into the second half when senior Ryan Eidenshink (Elkins Park, PA) tallied for a 4-4 tie.

Freshman Tim Taylor (Philadelphia, PA) then gave the Pride (6-3, 2-0 CC) the lead for good, scoring off a feed from junior Timothy Winslow (Newbury, MA) with 8:39 to go in the third for a 5-4 margin.

Eidenshink and Taylor then scored 2 1/2 minutes apart before senior Josh Fox (Wynnewood, PA) netted a man-up tally with 4:30 left in the quarter for an 8-4 lead.

Eidenshink and Fox scored three times for their second hat tricks of the season, Taylor netted two and junior Robert Clemens (Aston, PA) had two assists for the Pride, who closed with a 40-18 shots edge that included 21-8 in the second half en route to their third straight win.

The defense was more than up to the challenge, forcing 11 turnovers in the second half and only allowing the Dutchmen to convert 4-of-12 clear attempts. Winslow ended with five caused turnovers for the Pride, who this week received votes in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Top 20 Coaches Poll.

Junior Mac Nestler (Chatham, NJ), a two-time conference Goalkeeper of the Week this season, amassed five saves.

"The biggest difference between the first half and a 10-minute span of the third quarter is that we're playing like we are taught to play," Widener coach Brendan Dawson said. "We didn't start the game well and we were trying to make plays outside of what we're supposed to do. We had a great defensive effort in the second half and we greatly improved our play."

Malik Pedroso scored twice, Ryan Lanigan had three caused turnovers and Mike Moll totaled 14 saves for Lebanon Valley (5-4, 0-2).

Widener is on the road Saturday at Elizabethtown for a 1:00 pm start.

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