CHESTER, Pa. – Four different players on the Widener University men's lacrosse team recorded five points, helping the Pride score a season-high 18 goals en route to a MAC Commonwealth victory over the Messiah College Falcons on Wednesday night.

Highlights

• Connor Heisman had a day. The freshman attackman scored three goals on five shots, racked up two assists, caused a turnover, scooped three ground balls, and had zero turnovers.
• Nick DiIorio had one assist and set a career-high in goals, beating the Messiah keeper four times.
• Gavin Kirkwood shared the same stat line as DiIorio: four goals, one dime.
• Brady Franks scored or assisted on five Widener goals, finding the back of the cage three times and assisting on two goals in the second quarter.
• Kyle Groark messed around and went for two goals and two assists.
• Kenneth Watts won a career-high 19 faceoffs.
• Carter Landry made seven saves in three quarters.
• Matt Horton played the fourth and came up with huge saves in the final minutes, halting Messiah's comeback attempt.

How it happened

• After Messiah got on the scoreboard first at the 12-minute mark, Widener responded with two straight, coming from the sticks of Groark and DiIorio.
• Two consecutive Falcon scores before the end of the first made 3-2 in heading into the second.
• DiIorio knotted it at three just 40 seconds into quarter number two. Groark followed, making it 4-3 in favor of the Pride.
• Messiah tied it, and then John Dunbar and Kirkwood went back-to-back, giving the Pride a two-goal edge.
• Messiah fought back and evened the score at six.
• Two goals from WU, then alternating goals from each team made it 9-8 Pride at the break.
• The Falcons struck first in the second half.
• The Blue and Gold went up two again, thanks Heisman and Franks.
• Messiah cut the deficit to one goal at the 10:16 mark in the third quarter, but that is as close as the Falcons came to closing the gap.
• Widener entered the final quarter up three.
• The Pride kept its slight lead throughout the fourth.
• Horton made three crucial saves in the last minute of regulation, securing the win for WU.

 
Up next
Widener travels to Hood College on Saturday, April 6 for a matchup against the Blazers at 1:00 p.m.