Nick Specht vs DeSales 022716
6
DeSales DSU 0-1
13
Winner Elizabethtown ETOWN 2-1
DeSales DSU
0-1
6
Final
13
Elizabethtown ETOWN
2-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
DeSales DSU 0 3 2 1 6
Elizabethtown ETOWN 2 3 3 5 13

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Blue Jays pull away from DeSales, improve to 2-0 at home

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Junior midfielder Nick Specht led the charge with five points and Elizabethtown outscored visiting DeSales 5-1 in the fourth quarter of its 13-6 non-conference victory at Wolf Field Saturday afternoon.

Specht and Luke Stephens scored goals as the Jays built a 2-0 lead after one, but Joe Neggia would answer with two of his own 2:20 apart to tie the game with 10:39 left in the first half.

DeSales (0-1) took its only lead of the day when Jake McNamara beat Davis Miracle at 9:03 of the second quarter. The Blue Jays, trying to rally from an early season setback at Dickinson Wednesday, got the response they needed with Specht, Phil Kyger and Joe Clark scoring in succession to make it 5-3 at the half.

Though the first half may have been far too sloppy for coach Drew Delaney's liking, his team starting to clean things up as the game progressed through the third and fourth quarter. Elizabethtown (2-1) was just 3-of-6 on clears in the first quarter, but was 6-of-7 in the second quarter and 9-of-10 in the second half. DeSales committed 17 turnovers after halftime, with all six in the third quarter forced by six different Jays.

Face-off specialist Matt Rucci won 9-of-13 attempts after the break and was 13-for-20 overall.

Sophomore Michael Hofstedt totaled a career-high four caused turnovers. Zac Knapp, Jake Snyder, Specht and Stephens added two apiece and the Blue Jays' 19 caused turnovers were their most in seven games dating back to April 8, 2015.

Ryan Loughlin drew DeSales back to within one, 5-4, 36 seconds into the third quarter, but the Blue and Gray would score eight of the last 10 goals in the contest.

Specht completed his first career hat trick at 11:04 of the fourth quarter off a feed from Jimmy Waters. The Jackson, N.J., native finished with four goals and an assist. Clark and Dan Bednarik both had four-point afternoons with two goals and two assists each. Jason Clough set up three Blue Jay goals.

Elizabethtown outshot the Bulldogs 46-28, led by Specht's game-high 11 shots and 10 from Clark.

Zac Knapp registered his first career point by assisting on Specht's opening goal at the 8:52 mark of the first quarter and Andrew Watts enjoyed the same milestone by feeding Bednarik for a man-up goal that capped the scoring with 5:19 to play.

The Blue Jays also got two goals from Phil Kyger, one from Cody Larkin and another from Jordan Bowser –his first of the season. E-town picked up 52 ground balls to the Bulldogs' 41. Rucci's six were most on the team.

DeSales was led by Neggia, who equaled Specht's output with four goals and an assist. Josh Harman had two assists for the visitors and goalie Matt Warnken made 12 saves. Warnken's long bounce pass set up Neggia's second goal of the afternoon that tied the game 2-2 early in the second quarter.

Miracle turned aside 11 shots from the Bulldogs for the win.

Elizabethtown, which will now head south to face Guilford Wednesday afternoon, improved to 12-0 all-time against DeSales. Saturday's game was the first between the two since 2011.
 
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