2017 Men's Lacrosse Seniors vs. Catholic 4/29/17
8
Catholic CUA 13-2, 5-1 Landmark
10
Winner Elizabethtown ETOWN 12-3, 6-0 Landmark
Catholic CUA
13-2, 5-1 Landmark
8
Final
10
Elizabethtown ETOWN
12-3, 6-0 Landmark
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Catholic CUA 2 2 1 3 8
Elizabethtown ETOWN 3 3 1 3 10

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Blue Jays win battle of Landmark frontrunners to secure No. 1 seed

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- Cody Larkin scored his second straight hat trick and Elizabethtown got well-rounded contributions to defeat Catholic in a matchup of Landmark unbeatens, 10-8, Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at Wolf Field.

With the victory, the Blue Jays secured the No. 1 seed  and home field advantage in the upcoming Landmark Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. Elizabethtown also won its 19th straight Landmark regular season game and hasn't lost a regular season game to a league opponent since joining the conference in 2015.

E-town and Catholic traded goals over the course of the first quarter in an expected tightly-played game. Nick Specht got the Blue Jays on the board with 9:28 left in the opening period, darting right into the center of the field and rifling a shot past Cardinals' freshman goalie Alex Mulyk from about 20 yards out.

Larkin netted his first of three on the day, unassisted, at 4:48, but it was the Blue Jays' (12-3, 6-0 Landmark) play in the final minute of the quarter that set the tone going forward.

Freshman long stick midfielder Griffin Liebsch forced CUA's Liam Clancy into a turnover and sent the Blue Jays on a clear with less than a half minute remaining. Continued work in the offensive zone led to Joe Clark finding a cutting Jeff Bloom out in front and Bloom deposited the ball past Mulyk for his first career goal and a 3-2 Elizabethtown lead with just 3.4 seconds to go.

Nick Specht and Mike Specht (man-up) scored in the first eight minutes of the second as the two sides again swapped goals. Liebsch would factor into another critical moment, scoring his first career goal off a pass from Larkin with 5:18 to go in the first half. The goal gave E-town a 6-4 lead and the Jays kept Catholic scoreless for the remainder of the half.

Jason Clough, another of 14 seniors playing their final regular season home games in Blue and Gray, scored Elizabethtown's only goal of the third quarter and opened the fourth with his second of the day and 20th of the season to make it 8-5.

The hosts eventually pushed their lead to four goals, 9-5, on another tally by Larkin and maintained the cushion into the final minute. Larkin was also responsible for Elizabethtown's final goal of the day, which made it 10-6 with 7:57 to go.

Freshman goalie Tom Mahoney stopped 10 shots from the Cardinals (13-2, 5-1), who edged the Blue Jays in shots 37-35. The Hillsborough, New Jersey, native has continually passed tests with flying colors during his rookie season. Saturday marked the third time he's made double-digit saves and Mahoney has eight saves or more in seven of his 10 starts.

Larkin recorded a team-high four points and Nick Specht had three (two goals, one assist) for E-town, which went 2 for 2 on the man advantage, 20 for 24 on clears and won 10 of 22 face-offs. Specht needs four more points to join twin brother, Mike Specht, in Elizabethtown's 100 career point club.

E-town caused 10 turnovers on the afternoon, with Zac Knapp's three leading the way. Alec Lungi and Larkin each forced a pair, with Lungi picking up a team-high five ground balls.

Kyle Pienik won a season-high 10 face-offs on 21 tries.

Though the Blue Jays hadn't played a game in 11 days since upsetting No. 18 Washington and Lee, they never wavered in their approach against a Catholic team that has defeated them in the postseason each of the last two seasons. Both sides came into the regular season finale receiving votes in the latest USILA/Nike Division III Coaches Poll.

Elizabethtown effectively neutralized many of Catholic's top offensively threats. Cards leading scorer Bennett Bradley paced his team with four points on two goals and two assists, but took 14 shots. 33-goal scorer Tim Keith was limited to one and Victor Licata had a pair of points.

Catholic, which will open the Landmark tournament as the No. 2 seed, had its fair share of success on E-town's Clark, holding the conference's leading scorer to one point and without a goal for the first time since the season opener at Marywood back on Feb. 18.

Prior to Saturday's game, Elizabethtown honored the largest senior class in program history. Those suiting up in a regular season game at home for the final time were: Dan Bednarik (one assist), Clark, Clough, Jake Deacon, Bobby Hunter, Phil Kyger, Larkin, Cory Myer, Kyle Oberle, Matt Rucci, Mike Specht, Nick Specht, Luke Stephens (two ground balls) and Trey Yetter. This year's senior class is the winningest in program history with a 45-20 four-year record.

Elizabethtown will face No. 4 Scranton in the Landmark semifinals for a second straight year. The Blue Jays and Royals meet Wednesday on Wolf Field at 4 p.m., with a spot in the championship game on the line. Ticket information will be announced early next week.
 
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