DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – The Delaware Valley men's lacrosse team fell to Neumann University 18-6 on Wednesday evening.
Ryley Savering fired the first shot on goal, followed by Kieran Schneider, but both attempts were saved. Daniel Hickling made his first stop just two minutes in, but the Aggies quickly cleared the zone. Five minutes into the game, Gannon McKee scored to put the Knights in front 1-0. Neumann kept up the pressure, forcing Hickling to make three consecutive saves. The Knights extended their lead to 2-0 with 7:10 left in the first quarter, then struck again a minute later with a goal from Connor Paradis, making it 3-0. Owen Kelly had two shots go wide after a Knights turnover before time expired but failed to score.
Neumann struck again just 36 seconds into the second quarter, with Paradis netting his second of the game. Two and a half minutes in, Luke Witko's shot was saved. After Aston Benkwitt was called for slashing, the Knights immediately capitalized as Luke Sykes scored a man-up goal. Following that tally, Schneider and Kelly each fired shots on goal, both of which were saved. Both teams served one-minute penalties, and Neumann scored back-to-back goals just 30 seconds apart, courtesy of Carter Vanderhoofven and Paradis, stretching their lead to 8-0 with 4:36 remaining in the half. With 56 seconds left, after a Knights penalty, Savering scored on a man-up opportunity, his 14th goal of the season, putting the Aggies on the board before halftime.
Neumann struck again less than a minute into the third quarter and added another goal a few minutes later after an Aggies turnover, extending their lead to 10-1. Sasha Didden was called for two penalties, putting the Aggies down a man, and the Knights took advantage with another goal at the 11:22 mark. Delaware Valley finally got a man-up opportunity, and Kelly made the most of it, burying a goal assisted by Schneider for DelVal's second of the game. The Knights answered with two more goals a minute apart, including one while a man down with 7:24 left in the quarter. Three minutes later, the Aggies found time in the offensive zone, and Schneider scored off an assist from Witko to keep the deficit at ten. However, Neumann quickly responded with another goal after matching unnecessary roughness penalties, courtesy of Connor Hurley.
Schneider scored his second of the night two minutes into the fourth quarter after the Knights changed their goalie for the second time. Neumann responded less than a minute later, as Braden Travaglini found the net on a rebound. Keden Adams took a two-minute cross-checking penalty, but the Knights still managed to score two man-down goals, extending their lead to 17-4. The Aggies did capitalize on their man-up opportunity, with Schneider netting his third goal of the night at the 9:08 mark. Hickling made back-to-back saves with 6:30 left before Neumann turned the ball over on a shot clock violation. After additional saves by Hickling, Kelly scored one final goal with a minute remaining, bringing the final score to 18-6.
Following the loss, the Aggies fall to 3-4 overall. They have two remaining non-conference games against Centenary and Rosemont before facing DeSales at home on Saturday, April 5th, at 1:00 p.m.
