LEXINGTON, Va - VMI got goals from five different players and held off a late surge by Holy Cross to defeat the Crusaders 12-10 in men's lacrosse action held at Patchin Field this afternoon. The victory is the first of the season for the Keydets who improve to 1-2 while Holy Cross falls to 1-3.
Freshman attackman Kevin Hill (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) and junior attackman Will Collier (Centreville, Va./Woodberry Forest) led the Keydet attack, scoring three goals apiece with Hill also adding one assist. Junior attackman Robert Trimble (Oak Hill, Va./Oakton), senior attackman Leo McInerney (Syracuse, NY/Marcellus), and senior midfielder Erik Rohrmann (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) each scored two goals for VMI with Trimble adding two assists.
“One of the things we have this year is scoring depth,” said VMI associate head coach Mic Grant. “We feel this is the deepest team we have had in a handful of years.”
Holy Cross got on the scoreboard first when freshman Tim Redmond (Andover, Mass./St. John's Prep) scored off an assist from senior attackman Mike McKee (Sloatsburg, NY/Lawrenceville) at the 12:06 mark of the first quarter. That would be the only lead of the game for the Crusaders, who were forced to play uphill the rest of the way. Less than a minute after the game's initial goal, VMI answered when Hill took a pass from freshman midfielder Vincent Pierotti (Corning East, NY/Corning East) and scored to knot the game at one. Trimble scored VMI's second goal on an unassisted play to put the Keydets in front for good at 2-1 with 7:24 left in the first quarter. That would be the second of six straight goals for VMI as the Keydets stormed back en route to a 6-1 lead with 9:50 left in the second quarter.
“I think the kids came out strong and took the game to Holy Cross,” Grant said. “We put in some new offense and some new wrinkles and I think it paid off today.”
Holy Cross rallied back over the late stages of the second quarter, stringing together three straight goals before halftime to pull within 6-4 at the half. One of those scores was a man-up goal by sophomore midfielder Mike Moriarty (Fairfield, Conn./Westminster), who led the Crusaders with four goals on the day.
Holy Cross continued its surge in the second half, scoring first on another man-up goal, this one coming from McKee who was assisted by Redmond less than a minute into the third quarter. The score pulled the Crusaders to within 6-5.
After the two teams went scoreless over the next 5:23, VMI regained control by scoring three unanswered goals over a 5:01 span. Hill, Collier, and McInerney scored the three goals with sophomore midfielder Charles Barnes (Newton Square, Pa./Marple Newtown) and Hill assisting on two of them. Moriarty scored unassisted with 2:45 left in the third quarter making it a 9-6 VMI lead.
The Keydets padded their lead by scoring the first two goals of the fourth period. The first one was a man-up goal and came from Trimble off an assist from McInerney at the 8:10 mark of the fourth. Just 26 seconds later, Collier scored from Trimble as VMI took an 11-6 lead.
What looked like a comfortable lead for VMI would be challenged by Holy Cross. Trailing by five, the Crusaders scored three straight goals to pull within two at 11-9 with 1:51 left to play. Junior attackman Billy Klotz (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy), who scored three goals in the game, scored two of the three in the surge that made for anxious moments down the stretch.
Senior midfielder Erik Rohrman (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) added a goal for VMI off an assist from junior midfielder David Trimble (Oak Hill, Va./Oakton) with 46 seconds left to give the Keydets some added breathing room. VMI resorted to some aggressive defense from there, limiting the Crusaders scoring chances. Holy Cross added its final goal with eight seconds remaining as Moriarty scored off an assist from McKee for the final margin.
The Keydets will resume play on Saturday, March 12 with a 1 pm game at Patchin Field against Robert Morris (Pa.).
