PHILADELPHIA – The 16th-ranked University of Pennsylvania men's lacrosse team got out to a quick start Tuesday afternoon against the University at Albany and never looked back, defeating the Great Danes at Franklin Field, 14-8.
The Quakers scored twice in the first four minutes and held a 5-1 lead late in the first quarter. UAlbany got as close as one, at 5-4 in the second, but Penn reeled off four straight goals and six of the next seven and were never seriously challenged after that.
Penn improved to 1-1 with the win, while UAlbany fell to 0-2.
Quaker Notemeal
*Penn outshot UAlbany in the game, 34-26.
*After being held scoreless in Penn's season-opening loss at Georgetown on Saturday, sophomore
Chris Patterson was the Quakers' leading scorer on Tuesday as he scored the first five points of his collegiate career with four goals and an assist.
*Senior
Ben Smith also had a five-point day, going for three goals and two assists; in the process, he surpassed the 100-point mark for his career and now sits at 104.
*Senior
Cam Rubin also went past the 100-point mark for his career on Tuesday, recording two goals and an assist to put him at 102.
*Junior
Griffin Scane joined Patterson and Smith in netting hat tricks on Tuesday, doing so on four shots.
*Sophomre
Davis Provost had his second goal in as many games and also dished out an assist, while sophomore
Jacob Pacheco scored his first collegiate goal.
*Senior
Chris Canet and freshman
Nate Lucchesi both had assists in the game.
*Senior All-America
Brendan Lavelle led another stout defensive effort, with two of Penn's eight caused turnovers and five ground balls.
*In goal, senior All-America
Emmet Carroll made eight saves to get the win.
*On the faceoff X, freshman
Stevie Davis went 12-of-23 (.522).
How It Happened
Penn led just 2:06 into Tuesday's contest, Patterson finishing a feed from Lucchesi for his first collegiate point. Less than two minutes later, Rubin hit the 100-point mark with a trademark rip from up top, and Penn led 2-0. UAlbany got one of them back with 8:50 left in the first, but then Scane, Provost (from Mulligan) and Scane again (this time from Patterson) scored a trio of goals in a span of 5:30 and the Quakers led 5-2 after one.
After scoring in the final minute of the opening quarter, UAlbany drew within one in the first five minutes of the second as Max Neeson scored unassisted and then Silas Richmond finished a feed from Ryan Doherty. That would be all the scoring the Danes would get the rest of the half, however, and Penn was able to get back to doubling them up as Rubin, Smith—scoring for his 100th career point—and Scane (completing his hat trick) made it 8-4 at the break.
The third quarter started with Pacheco netting his first collegiate goal less than two minutes in, and the death blow came after Joey Carino scored for UAlbany when Patterson netted a pair of goals just eight seconds apart. That pushed the Quakers' lead to 11-5. The Great Danes got two of them back with goals a little less than three minutes apart, but Smith and Patterson matched them—Patterson's on a behind-the-back effort from in front—and Penn took a 13-7 lead into the fourth.
The team went nearly 10 minutes before anyone scored in the final period, UAlbany's Alex Pfeiffer netting an unassisted effort. That was matched less than two minutes later by Smith, giving him his hat trick, and that closed out the scoring.
Up Next
Penn is on the road for its next three games, starting Saturday when the Quakers are at Delaware for a noon faceoff with the 17th-ranked Blue Hens.
For the latest on Penn men's lacrosse, follow @PennMensLax on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.
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