Bethany Lacrosse Closes 2016 Season at Washington & Jefferson
April 23 – WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Bethany College lacrosse program closed out the 2016 regular season, dropping a 21-9 decision to Washington & Jefferson College on Saturday afternoon.
The host Preisdents jumped out to the early advantage, outscoring the Bison by an 8-2 score in the first quarter. The game opened in a flurry, with a total of six goals being scored through the first 7:30.
Washington and Jefferson tallied a pair of goals to open the game before the Bison responded with a goal from Grant Delaney (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster). The senior tallied his 26th goal of the season, unassisted, pulling the score to 2-1.
Following two more scores by W&J, Jake Holland scored his 20th of the season at the 7:02 mark of the first, cutting the hosts' lead to 4-2.
Holland became the third Bison this season to reach the 20-goal mark on the season, joining Delaney and Jacob Schiffer (Monkton, Md./Hereford). The achievement marks the first time since the program's reboot that the Green & White have had three players score at least 20 goals in the same season.
After the Presidents scored the final four goals of the first quarter, the Bison opened the second frame with a goal by Bryan Uth (Hedgesville, W. Va./Hedgesville). Uth took advantage of a man-up opportunity, taking a pass from Jake Holland (Canton, Ohio/Jackson) and burying it in the back of the net for his tenth of the season. The goal cut the Presidents' lead to 8-3.
W&J once again responded with four-straight goals, ending the half on a four-score run to put the Bison down 12-3 at the break.
Keeping with the trend, the Presidents kept with the 4-1 ratio of goals as Bethany tallied the first score of the second half on a goal from Lamont Sweeny (Columbia, Md./Reservoir). Washington & Jefferson then scored four-consecutive unanswered tallies before Schiffer score his 21st of the season to round out the score at 16-5 at the end of the third.
In the fourth quarter, the two programs combined for nine goals, with Washington & Jefferson holding a 5-4 edge in the closing frame. The Bison received goals from Delaney, Schiffer and Uth in the fourth quarter, giving all three players their second goal of the game.
The Presidents tallied five goals in the closing quarter, outscoring the Bison by a goal, rounding out the scoring at 21-9. The Bison's last goal of the 2016 season score by sophomore Eshaka Conteh (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams), who tallied his first goal of the campaign on an assist by Steve Pluas (Mt. Pocono, Pa./Keystone).
Offensively, Schiffer, Delaney and Uth all finished with a pair of goals. Delaney's pair of scores game him 27 on the season, matching a career high. The senior finished his four-year career with 74 goals, the most of any Bison in school history.
Other offensive leaders for the Green & White included Holland, who finished the game with three points, including a goal and a pair of assists. The junior finished the season with a team-high 45 points, which included 20 goals and 25 assists.
Defensively, Bethany was led by Uth and Pluas who tallied eight and six ground balls, respectively. Pluas also caused a turnover, while Uth won 11 faceoffs over the course of the game.
