Scott Nizolak vs. St. Mary's 2/24/18
Dan Gittis
5
St. Mary's (Md.) SMC 1-2
10
Winner Elizabethtown ETOWN 2-0
St. Mary's (Md.) SMC
1-2
5
Final
10
Elizabethtown ETOWN
2-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
St. Mary's (Md.) SMC 2 1 1 1 5
Elizabethtown ETOWN 4 2 1 3 10

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Myers and Nizolak lead men's lax to 10-5 win over St. Mary's

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- Jack Myers made a career-high 12 saves and Scott Nizolak, who missed the entire 2017 season, scored four goals as Elizabethtown doubled up St. Mary's (Md.), 10-5, in its home opener at Wolf Field Saturday afternoon.

It was a memorable day for a few Blue Jays, as three players --including Nizolak-- scored their first career goals.

Early on it was all Nizolak, however. The sophomore from Scotch Plains, N.J., ripped a shot past Seahawks (1-2) goalie Ross Snodderly at 11:16 of the first to tie the game at one. Just over seven minutes later he scored again, this time off an Austin Dews setup, and the Blue Jays had the lead for good.

Freshman Cameron Goodling registered his first career goal at 3:20 and Mike Scrafano potted his fifth of the season with 52 left in the opening period to give the Blue Jays (2-0) a 4-2 advantage.

Nizolak completed the hat trick at 11:03 of the second and Mike DiGenova became the third E-town player to scored his first career goal, converting out of a timeout with 11 seconds remaining in the first half and sending the Blue and Gray to the break with a 6-3 lead.

Snodderly was a difference maker for the Seahawks in the first half, making nine saves, including eight in the first quarter. But when the teams returned to the field it was E-town junior goalie Jack Myers who took control.

Myers turned aside 10 St. Mary's scoring bids in the second half and came up huge in the fourth quarter with seven stops to maintain a multiple goal advantage for the hosts. The Ambler, Pa., native made a number of stops from dangerous scoring areas and stoned Jeremiah Clemmer's attempt early in the fourth with the Blue Jays down two men.

Rather than St. Mary's getting the deficit back to two, the Blue Jays turned a three-goal lead to four shortly thereafter when Nizolak scored his fourth of the day, unassisted, at 13:48 to make it 8-4. Dews and DiGenova also found the back of the net in the fourth for Elizabethtown.

Jeremy Klipple, Jon Knapp and Griffin Liebsch were strong defensively, each forcing a pair of St. Mary's turnovers. Knapp and Scrafano shared the team lead with five ground balls apiece. Sophomore Kyle Pienik won 9-of-13 face-offs, one off his single-game career-high.

DiGenova joined Nizolak with a four-point afternoon, collecting two goals and two helpers. Dews had a goal and an assist, and freshman Brandon Sankey also scored for the victorious Jays.

Elizabethtown held a 34-30 edge in shots and successfully killed off five of the Seahawks' six extra-man opportunities. Saturday's win improved the Jays to 11-6 in home openers all-time. They've won six of their last seven dating back to 2012.

The Blue Jays will be back on Wolf Field next Saturday to face Shenandoah at 3 p.m.
 
Print Friendly Version