SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College men's lacrosse team, the preseason third-ranked team in the nation, opened its 2006 season with a 19-9 win over visiting Greensboro College on Wednesday afternoon in Salem, VA. The Maroons improve to 12-1 all-time against the Pride, which is now 0-1 this season. The Maroons are back in action on Saturday in a road game against the Seahawks of St. Mary's (MD) College.
Roanoke sophomore
Matt Duke scored three goals and added two assists for the Maroons, who also got three goals from
Jon Mason,
Chris Keating, and
Adam Leahy. The Maroons dictated all statistical categories in the game, outshooting the Pride 55-28, winning the groundball battle 72-38, and winning 26 of the 32 face-offs. Maroon sophomore
Billy Cameron won 25 of the 29 face-offs he took in the win, the most wins in a single game for the Salem, VA native.
Matt Madalon, who on Wednesday was one of two Division III players placed on the Tewaaraton Trophy watch list, made eight saves for the Maroons.
The Maroons were able to build only a 7-4 lead at the break. That was in large part due to the play of Greensboro goalie Corey Reina. Reina made 10 saves in the first half of play and also collected seven groundballs. The Maroons took a 4-1 lead after the first period of play, but the Pride stormed back to trim the lead to one in the second period. Mason broke the Greensboro run, scoring on a fastbreak pass from defender
Ben Love. Mason was able to catch the ball between two defenders and slip through for his second goal of the game.
Coming out in the second half with the three goal lead, the Maroons scored all eight of the goals in the third quarter. Duke and Keating each scored man-up goals for the Maroons in the third period, both coming off passes from each other. Duke's man-up goal was the eventual game-winner.
Scott Pattison tallied two goals for the Maroons, one coming in that 8-0 run.
The Maroons took as much as a 13-goal lead, but the Pride finished the game on a 4-1 run. Chris Donnelly scored two unassisted goals, beating a man from the wing. The Pride scored five of the nine goals in the fourth quarter.
In his first college game, Roanoke freshman
Chaz Carlson recorded 10 groundballs, seven in the first half, and also scored his first college goal. His goal capped off the scoring in the first, getting the ball on the wing off of a Cameron face-off win. Carlson took his defender down the left side, beating him with a one-on-one move. He would later add an assist on a
Zack Thomas score. Preseason First Team All-American
Ben Love led all players with 12 groundballs.
Roanoke vs. Greensboro Box Score
