SCRANTON, Pa. – Hoping to end the 2015 season with a win and momentum for the offseason, the Virginia Military Institute lacrosse team earned an 11-10 victory over UMass Lowell at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The match was closely contested in nearly every statistical category with the Keydets (1-14) winning the battle in shots (40-31) and ground balls (46-44) while dominating faceoffs by a 21-4 ratio. The River Hawks (1-13) slightly won saves (14-12), clears (24 of 26 to VMI's 21-for-24) and had fewer turnovers by committing 19 to VMI's 29.
The Keydets were highlighted by senior Mike DeBlasio's five goals in the game, the most in a single game during the 2015 campaign.
VMI jumped to a quick 3-0 lead with goals from Brad Biondello, Wesley Sanders and Chris Spada before UML's Zack Schwartz broke the streak with three minutes before the second quarter. DeBlasio added another goal for the Keydets before a UML score to give VMI a 4-2 advantage after one period.
DeBlasio struck again early in the second before a UML score moments later. After a DeBlasio goal at the 6:20 mark of the period, the River Hawks scored two unanswered goals to send VMI into the break with a 6-5 advantage.
Domenick Stumpo provided a score for the Keydets early in the third period to put VMI up 7-5, but UMass Lowell rallied to tie it up by the end of the quarter with two goals by Jon Phillips and went ahead, 8-7, following a goal early in the fourth.
DeBlasio knotted it up back at eight apiece after a goal but was short-lived as UML's Kyle Strong added a goal. The Keydets finished the game strong with three consecutive goals to pull ahead for the eventual 11-10 victory.
DeBlasio finished the game with a team-high five goals and 10 shots while Sanders put in two goals on five attempts. Defensively, Tyler Prasnicki led the way with three caused turnovers with Ty Trobridge contributing two.
UMass Lowell was led by Jon Phillips and Kyle Strong, who poured in three goals apiece with a handful of other each contributing a goal. UML's Alex Desmarais was given the loss on 14 saves while VMI's Evan Windisch earned the win on seven saves.
