DOYLESTOWN (Pa.) – Seniors Brandon Keller and Ben Napieralski reached the 100 career-point plateau and lifted the Delaware Valley University men's lacrosse team to a thrilling 10-9 triumph over visiting Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom foe FDU-Florham.
The Aggies improved to 6-10 overall and 3-4 in league play while the Devils fell to 3-11 and 1-6.
DelVal found itself in a 3-0 hole early in the second quarter after FDU scored twice in the first and got on tacked on another just 37 seconds into the second.
Over the next seven minutes of play, the two teams combined for seven goals as the action went back-and-forth. Keller scored the Aggies first three goals of the contest and Brett Ziegler picked up an unassisted tally to make it a 6-4 game.
Napieralski and Keller pulled DelVal even with consecutive goals separated by less than two minutes, but with under a minute to play in the half the Devils regained the lead and took a 7-6 advantage into halftime.
FDU held a 13-11 edge in shots on goal, in the first half while the Aggies were perfect on nine clear attempts and held a 10-5 advantage in face offs.
Out of the break, DelVal went on a 4-0 run that spanned into the early parts of the fourth quarter and gave the Aggies the lead for good. Napieralski setup Tony Aguayo to tie the game at 7-7 and then found the back of the net for his 100th career point to give DelVal the lead with 1:07 left in the third. Just seven seconds into the fourth, Keller joined Napieralski in the 100-point club with his fifth goal of the game.
Napieralski added one more tally in the fourth to give the home team a three-goal cushion and the Aggies held on down the stretch to secure the 10-7 victory.
Keller finished with five points on five goals and Napieralski scored four points with three goals and an assist. Aguayo, another senior, pitched in a goal and an assist, while JD Robinson and Nick Matthew each picked up one helper and Brett Ziegler scored once. Matthew added 13 ground balls and won 14-of-22 face offs, and Robinson secured four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Luke Kelchner's defense late in the game was key to securing the victory. He finished with five caused turnovers and four ground balls. Jim Murphy played all 60 minutes in goal and made 12 saves.
Nicholas Perillo led the Devils with five points on four goals and an assist and MacGyver Hay collected nine ground balls and six caused turnovers. Trevor Arnone won 7-of-20 face offs and Dan Schlupp made 14 saves in goal.
DelVal will conclude its season on the road at MAC Freedom rival DeSales at 1 p.m.
