ANNVILLE, Pa. (Apr. 13, 2016) – In a battle between two undefeated programs in league action, the Widener University men's lacrosse team came away with a 15-5 victory over Lebanon Valley on Wednesday afternoon at Arnold Field.
 
After surrendering the game's first goal, Widener responded with two unanswered markers just 30 seconds apart to begin gaining control of the contest. Junior Tyler Schulte (Southampton, N.J.) drove in through multiple defenders to put the Pride on the board before freshman Drew Amsley (Carlisle, Pa.) unleashed a rocket that opposing goalkeeper Cameron Epple had no chance of stopping to give the visitors the lead.
 
Amsley's goal ignited the Widener offense, as freshman Gavin Kirkwood (Basking Ridge, N.J.) found the back of the net at 9:43 on a man-up opportunity and freshman Shane Taylor (Philadelphia, Pa.) found older brother Tim Taylor (Philadelphia, Pa.) just seven seconds later to extend the Pride advantage to 4-1.
 
The Pride led by a 5-2 score at the end of the first quarter and continued to add to their lead in the second. Senior captain Marc LaVine (Nashua, N.H.) recorded his third assist of the contest when he set up junior Vince Marra (Morton, Pa.) for a marker that made it 9-3 with 4:42 on the clock and the visitors would later still hold a five-goal advantage at the recess.
 
Widener dominated the entire second half and most notably did not yield a goal in the entire third quarter. While the defense being anchored by senior Pat Keller (Glen Rock, N.J.) was holding the Dutchmen in check, the offense added four markers in the next 15 minutes to pull away. Tim Taylor capped the scoring in the frame by causing a turnover behind the Lebanon Valley net, scooping up the ground ball and then beating the Dutchmen goalkeeper with a shot that landed in the back of the net.
 
The Pride extended their lead to double digits in the fourth quarter when freshman Brady Franks (State College, Pa.) finished a pass from senior Kyle Gratz (Worthington, Ohio). After Klayton Garman found the back of the net for Lebanon Valley with 12:28 on the clock, a marker by Shane Taylor provided more than enough insurance for the visitors and produced the final outcome.
 
Shane Taylor and LaVine each registered four points to lead the way for Widener, which had a 46-29 advantage in total shots while also winning 18 of the game's 24 faceoffs and going nearly 20 minutes without allowing a goal between the second and fourth quarters. Taylor finished with two goals and two assists and LaVine had one marker and three helpers. Sophomore Anthony Paone (Warrington, Pa.) won 18 faceoffs and scooped up 11 ground balls to help set up the offense, while Keller caused a game-high three turnovers and freshman Matt Horton (Emmaus, Pa.) made 12 saves between the pipes on the defensive end.
 
Lebanon Valley (7-4, MAC Commonwealth 2-1) was paced by Kody Keefer in the losing effort. He had three points on two goals and one assist. Epple made 12 stops in the cage.
 
Widener (5-5, MAC Commonwealth 4-0) will look to win its fifth straight contest when it visits Messiah on Saturday, Apr. 16 at 1:00 p.m.