Bethany Lacrosse Rallies Late to Defeat Franciscan
April 13 – BETHANY, W. Va. – The Bethany College lacrosse team rallied in the fourth quarter to take down Franciscan University, 17-16, at Bison Stadium on Wednesday evening. The Green & White scored five unanswered goals during a four-minute stretch to take the lead late in the fourth.
Bethany (3-10) got on the scoreboard first to start the high-scoring affair as junior Tyler Peck (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) recorded a goal at the 14:19 mark of the opening quarter. The 33 combined goals marked the second-highest total at Bison Stadium since the program reboot in 2011.
After Franciscan (3-8) responded less than a minute later, freshman Luke Gregor (Venetia, Pa./The Kiski School) scored his first goal of the game to give the Bison a 2-1 lead.
Sophomore Bryan Uth (Hedgesvile, W. Va./Hedgesvile) extended Bethany's advantage to 3-1 with 10:44 to play, taking a pass from junior Jake Holland (Canton, Ohio/Jackson) and finding the back of the net. Holland had four assists in the opening half.
Franciscan took control the remainder of the quarter, scoring five unanswered goals of their own to take a 6-3 lead at the first break.
The Barons struck first in the second quarter before Bethany received two goals from both senior Grant Delaney (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) and sophomore Jacob Schiffer (Monkton, Md./Hereford) to help the Bison outscore their opponents 5-4 in the frame.
Bethany took advantage of Franciscan mistakes, scoring three times on two man-up opportunities in the half. The Barons, however, held a 10-8 advantage at the intermission.
Gregor recorded an early goal to begin the second half. Delaney earned one of his two assists in the game on the score.
The Barons then quickly rattled off three goals over the next four minutes to hold a seemingly comfortable 13-9 advantage.
Bethany refused to go away easily as sophomore Lamont Sweeney (Columbia, Md./Reservoir) notched his second goal of the contest and Gregor found net for the third time to pull within three (14-11) at the conclusion of the third quarter.
Delaney struck again to start the fourth, giving the senior a hat trick for the fourth consecutive game.
After the Barons answered with a goal during a man-down situation at the 11:39 mark, the Bison found their offensive groove. Bethany scored five unanswered goals over a four-minute period to stun the Barons and completely change the momentum of the contest.
During the scoring spree, Delaney added two more goals while Uth, Peck, and Schiffer beat the Franciscan keeper as well to give Bethany the 17-15 advantage with 6:23 to go.
From there, Sean Rhodes (Indiana, Pa./Indiana Area Senior) and the Bison defense shut down any hope Franciscan had of getting back in the game. Rhodes finished the game with 21 saves, including seven in the fourth quarter, to secure the Bethany victory, 17-16.
Offensively, Delaney led the Bison with seven points as he totaled five goals and two assists. The attackman has dominated as of late, scoring 19 goals over the last four games to help Bethany to a 3-1 record during that stretch.
Schiffer and Gregor both finished with hat tricks of their own. The performance marked the third time in the previous four contests that Schiffer had scored three goals, while Gregor earned his first career hat trick.
Sweeney, Uth, and Peck all recorded multi-goal games as well with two, each.
Holland consistently created offensive opportunities for the Green & White throughout the game, amassing five assists against the Barons.
On the defensive end, juniors Dominic Halstead (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake) and Steven Pluas (Mt. Pocono, Pa./Keystone), along with Schiffer, each had two caused turnovers.
Uth led the Bison with 10 groundballs while Halstead and Schiffer both totaled five.
Bethany lacrosse will return to the field on Saturday, April 16 when they travel to take on Transylvania in Ohio River Lacrosse Conference action. The game is set for a 1:00 p.m. start.
