CHESTER, Pa. – In a gloomy Saturday MAC Commonwealth battle in the trenches on senior day, Widener men's lacrosse come up short to the tested Stevenson Mustangs.
 
Following the 24-11 loss, the Pride fall to 6-7 in the regular season and 3-2 in MAC Commonwealth play.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Pride go 22 of 25 in clears and outshoot the Mustangs 55-51.
• Connor Heisman led the Pride with four goals while Nick DiCicco led the team with 12 shots.
• The Pride grabbed 43 ground balls and caused 11 turnovers.
• In the net, Keegan Billie faced 24 shots and saved half.

HOW IT HAPPENED AT HIRSCHMANN FIELD
 
Following the senior day ceremonies where the Pride honored their 10 departing seniors, the battle in the trenches begun. Heisman and DiCicco opened strong with shots that fell unsuccessful. The Mustangs struck first nearly five minutes into the game. As the quarter ran down, the Pride called timeout after a Billie save and a wide Mustangs rip. Brian Noll opened the scoring gates for the Pride with 4:16 on the clock to make the score 4-1 in favor of the Mustangs. A Billie save shortly after gave the Pride an offensive run to cut the lead to two after a Matt Buckley goal. After 15 minutes of play the Pride were down two.
 
Opening the second, the Pride struggled to keep up with a fast-paced Mustang offense as they went on a 4-0 run seven minutes into the quarter. After a faceoff violation win from Jack Witchtendahl, Heisman took it to the net to break up the Mustang scoring. Following a Grant Zick turnover, Heisman again took it upon himself to find the back of the cage with 6:26 remaining. After a few Pride shots from DiCicco, Nicholas Knepp, and Heisman the quarter ran out as the Pride trailed by eight.
 
A halftime talk led to a Heisman goal with Samuel Haverstrom to open play in the third. A cross-checking penalty gave the Pride an extra-man opportunity which sent Wesley Sporer shooting high. A bunch of quick team passes around the horn ended up with a N. Knepp assist on a Haverstrom goal to cut the lead in half again. The Pride kept pestering the Mustangs goalie but kept coming up empty. With 6:12 on the clock Heisman ended the silence with a Buckley pass to make the score 17-7. The Pride again saw shots to score but were held to Buckley's last goal to end the quarter.
 
To begin the fourth, the Pride went on a hot streak with a 4-0 run. A minute into the quarter Buckley found the cage after a shot wide and blocked N. Knepp shot. A blocked shot from the Mustangs gave the Pride a good clear and a Sporer goal from Heisman. After a Billie save and good penalty kill on the Pride, Buckley had a high shot and T.J. Hoyt had a wide shot before DiCicco's shot hit the net. The score was 19-10 in favor of the Mustangs. 20 seconds later, Witchtendahl's faceoff win and ground ball allowed Jimmy Knepp to score from an Angus Ballentine pass which forced a Mustang timeout. The Pride scoring came to an end after the Mustang defense woke up. Billie closed the game out with a few more saved to keep the score down but the Pride fell 24-11.
 
UP NEXT
Widener returns to the field on Wednesday, April 19 to face the 4-9 Alvernia Golden Wolves in another conference game. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.