DOYLESTOWN (PA)--- With his third ground ball in the first half, Nick Matthew became the all-time single-season ground ball record holder in DelVal men's lacrosse history, as the Aggies picked up a convincing 21-9 win over King's College in a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom contest.
Matthew collected ten ground balls in the game and now sits at 98 for the season, breaking Matt Tordone's previous record of 90 in 2016.
The win moves DelVal to 5-9 overall and 2-3 in MAC Freedom. After Lycoming's loss to DeSales tonight, the Aggies sit at half a game behind the Warriors for the fifth and final playoff spot.
The Aggies came out dominating from the start, as they outscored the Monarchs 6-0 in the first quarter with six different goal scorers. Tony Aguayo got the scoring started for the Aggies just over three minutes in. Tre Williams followed with a goal to extend the lead to 2-0. Lucien St. Onge, Brett Ziegler, Nick Bogdan and Ben Napieralski each tallied a goal in the first quarter.
Action slowed down in the second, as the Monarchs outscored the Aggies 2-1 in the frame. Napieralski netted his second goal of the game, helping DelVal to a 7-2 halftime lead.
DelVal came out of halftime on fire, with Keller scoring in just seven seconds. Napieralski and George Evanick followed suit with goals of their own, giving the Aggies a 10-2 lead early in the third. Keller scored yet again 1:55 seconds into the quarter to make it 11-2. After a goal from King's cut the lead to 11-3, Keller and Williams found the back of the net along with two goals from Ziegler, giving DelVal a 15-3 lead after three quarters.
King's got the scoring started in the fourth, but the Aggies responded with goals from Aguayo, Tom Palazzo and Jack Sprinkle to lead 18-4 midway through the final stanza. Keller and Ziegler added one more goal each and Chris Marren found the scoring column late in the fourth.
Brett Ziegler and Brandon Keller each recorded four goals for the Aggies while Ben Napieralski scored three. In total, 11 different players found the back of the net.
The Aggies travel to Lycoming on Saturday for a 1 p.m. start in a pivotal MAC Freedom contest.