CHESTER, Pa. – After dropping their first game of the new season against Swarthmore, Widener men's lacrosse bounced back to defeat the Shenandoah University Hornets 13-6.

The Pride are 1-1 in the regular season, and they have yet to see a MAC Commonwealth opponent.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Connor Heisman and Nick DiCicco tied for a game-high four goals each.
• Twenty-nine of Widener's 51 shots were on goal (56.7%).
• Drew Venit had a team-leading six ground balls, while Jimmy Knepp was right behind with five.

HOW IT HAPPENED AT QUICK STADIUM
Shenandoah won the faceoff to start the game. After some missed shots by the Pride's offense, Heisman got Widener's first goal. Bryant Maits earned the assist. It was not long after that Heisman found the net and scored once again. The Pride would go up as much as 4-0 before the Hornets were able to cash in on their own goal. Despite this, Heisman's white-hot start continued. Just under the two-minute mark, he chipped in his third goal of the first quarter. That would be the final goal scored by either side for the quarter. After 15 minutes, the Pride led 5-1.

The Hornets, like the first quarter, won the initial faceoff. Widener and Shenandoah were aggressive on offense, as each team attempted shots in quick bursts. As the Pride made a successful clear attempt, they earned a goal from DiCicco. This would be one of three goals that DiCicco would score in the quarter. He also added an assist. DiCicco's third goal of the quarter was the final score from either team for the half. Even with a penalty being called on the Pride as the clock ran out, Widener went to the locker room with a 9-3 advantage.

Going into the third quarter, the Hornets were ready for a comeback attempt. Jake Green of Shenandoah scored back-to-back goals within the first 1:03 of the new half. Widener proceeded to win the faceoff. DiCicco and Heisman's shots were unsuccessful before Matt Buckley joined in on the scoring blitz and earned Widener's 10^th goal of the day. Later in the quarter, the Hornets turned the ball over, leading to another scoring opportunity for the Pride. With Shenandoah down one man due to penalty, C.J. Lane answered for Widener to increase the lead to 11-5. That was with 8:26 left, but both offenses were stifled for the remainder of the third quarter. The Pride picked up six ground balls in those eight-and-a-half minutes.

In the early moments of the final quarter, Heisman picked up an offside penalty. The Hornets would take advantage of this man-up opportunity to score. Angus Ballentine answered right back with under 12 minutes left, getting a goal on a Liam Montgomery assist. The score was Widener 12-6. After turnovers by both the Pride and the Hornets, Widener used ground balls by Samuel Haverstrom and Knepp to lead the offense. This concluded with another Buckley goal. The final score was 13-6 Widener.

UP NEXT
The Pride will play their third straight home game, this time against the Washington College Shoremen on Saturday, March 4. That game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.