Bison hold off La Roche, win 13-11

Steve Janik, Assistant Sports Information Director

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Mar. 6) - The Bethany College men's lacrosse team defeated La Roche 13-11 in a non-conference matchup on Monday.

With the victory, Bethany improves to 2-1 on the year, while La Roche falls to 1-3.

Leading the Bison offensively was Jake Holland (Canton, Ohio/Jackson), who scored four goals and tallied two helpers. Tyler Peck (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) finished with three goals and an assist, while Shaka Conteh (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) and Will Gatling (Baltimore, Md./Northwestern) each contributed two goals. Dominic Halstead (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake) and Dan Booth (Stockport, Manchester, England/Poynton) also added a goal apiece. Last week's Ohio River Lacrosse Conference Defensive Player of the Week, Sean Rhodes (Indiana, Pa./Indiana), recorded 10 saves on 21 shots faced.

Bethany got ahead early and often, netting four goals on 18 shots in the opening quarter. They were led by Peck who scored a pair as the Bison held the 4-1 advantage into the second.

Peck continued his strong play, scoring the first goal of the second quarter as the Bison maintained momentum. After a goal from Booth, the Redhawks scored three of the next four goals over a three-minute stretch. Bethany led 7-4 with about eight minutes to play in the half before they rallied off three consecutive goals to end the half with the 10-4 lead.

Holland got things started in the second half by scoring his third goal and increasing their lead to seven at 11-4. La Roche answered with a score before Holland netted his fourth goal of the game.

With the score at 12-5 in favor of the Bison, the hosts scored three straight goals in three minutes before the Bison went into the final quarter with the 13-8 lead. 

La Roche had eyes on a comeback, scoring three unanswered goals in the fourth but the Bison held strong for the road victory.

Next up, Bethany travels to Hope College (Mich.) next Tuesday, March 14 for a game set to begin at 7:00p.m.