Tigers Hold On For Win Over St. Vincent

LATROBE, Pa. — For the fourth time in the first five games of the 2012 season, the Wittenberg men's lacrosse team found a way to get it done, squeaking past St. Vincent 10-9 on an unseasonably warm, sunny St. Patrick's Day afternoon.

The Tigers improved to 4-1 on the season with their second one-goal win of the campaign, while St. Vincent fell to 1-4. The win provides some much-needed momentum heading into Wittenberg's 2012 home opener against Washington & Jefferson at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 21.

Wittenberg jumped out to a 2-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and led 5-4 at halftime. The lead was extended to 10-6 on the third goal of the game from juniorAlex Previte (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) with 2:26 left in the third quarter.

From that point, however, the Tigers couldn't find the range offensively, allowing St. Vincent to rally. The Bearcats scored the final goal of the third period and added two goals in just one minute midway through the fourth. But from that point, none of the Bearcats' four shots were on frame and the Tigers held on for the win.

Senior goalkeeper Spencer Baker (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington)recorded eight saves in the game, while a pair of Tigers finished with team-highs of four ground balls in seniors William Emery (Columbus, Ohio/Wellington School)and Elliot Avis (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids).

Offensively, Previte led with three goals, followed by seniors Jimmy Luckino (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) and Jim Ferris (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) with two each. Ferris also dished out two assists. Sophomore Jack Bornhofen (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh) turned in the finest performance of his young collegiate career with one goal and three assists.