BALTIMORE – Loyola University Maryland men's lacrosse doubled Providence College's second-half scoring output, 8-4, while
Max Watkinson made 12 of his 15 saves in the third and fourth quarters of a 15-9 non-conference win at Ridley Athletic Complex on Saturday.
Providence outshot the Greyhounds (4-2 overall), 23-19 in the second half, but and Loyola shot .421 to the Friars' .173 after the break.
Matthew Minicus scored four goals and
Mason Cook added three.
Will Musgrove had the best point output of his young career, scoring twice to go with a team-high three assists, while
Kenan Everhart added two goals and two assists.
On the defensive side of the ball, Loyola held the Big East Conference's leader in points scored this season, Providence's Rhett Chambers, to just one assist.
The Greyhounds also won 15 of 26 faceoffs with
Carson Hall's 13 of 22 leading the way.
Providence scored off the game's opening faceoff when long-stick midfielder Ian Olenik scored 15 seconds into the contest. Loyola came back to tie the game one-minute, seven seconds later with an unassisted goal by
Kenan Everhart.
That started a 3-0 first-quarter run for the Greyhounds with Minicus and Musgrove each scoring with assists by
Brady West and Everhart, respectively.
The Friars (3-4) tallied the next two, sending the game to the second quarter tied at 3-3 following a Richie Joseph goal with 75 seconds left in the first.
Minicus, however, scored twice in quick succession to put Loyola back on top. He recorded an unassisted goal at 13:42, and then
Miles Halter grabbed a ground ball on the ensuing faceoff and threw to Minicus on the right wing for another goal at 13:32.
Providence again tied the game at 5-5 behind Jay Wilkerson and Joseph goals, the second coming with 6:49 to go in the first half.
Luke Murphy dodged off the left side and scored at 3:30 for Loyola, and Minicus added his fourth of the half with an Everhart assist at 1:51, putting the Greyhounds ahead two at halftime.
Mason Cook added to the lead with a goal 2:02 into the second half, but Providence scored on extra-man and then in settled offense with 9:36 on the clock, and it was an 8-7 Loyola lead.
Loyola's defense killed off a two-minute, non-releasable penalty that started with 5:54 to go in the third, and eight seconds after teams were back to even-strength,
Brady Quinn scored with a Musgrove assist to put Loyola ahead two.
Connor Wilbur added a goal off a Cook assist 33 ticks into the fourth quarter, and Cook was on the scoring end of a Musgrove pass just over a minute later, putting Loyola up four for the first time in the game.
Wilkerson scored at 12:12 for Providence, but
Chase Gregory cleared off a
Joe Houlihan caused turnover and scored his third goal in four games less than a minute later for the Greyhounds.
Chris Matia made it a three-goal margin again with a Providence goal at 9:09, but it was the last the Friars would score.
Cook, Musgrove and Everhart all scored in the final nine minutes to provide the final margin for the Greyhounds.
The Greyhounds will be back at home on Saturday, March 14, to continue their five-game homestand when they face Lehigh University at 12 noon at Ridley Athletic Complex.
