Bethany dominant in win over Earlham, 17-2

Andrew Woodley, Sports Information Director

BETHANY, W.Va. (April 7) - Six Bison scored multiple goals, as the Bethany College men's lacrosse team raced away with a 17-2 win over Earlham Saturday afternoon in an Ohio River Lacrosse Conference (ORLC) match.

THE MATCHUP

• Final: Bethany 17, Earlham 2 (Box Score)
• Records: Bethany 3-7, 1-4 ORLC | Earlham 0-10, 0-6 ORLC
• Location: Bison Stadium | Bethany, West Virginia

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Bison netted the first goal of the game when freshman Tristan Shaffer (Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax) took a pass from classmate Hunter Jackson (Towson, Md./Archbishop Curley) and scored less than three minutes into the contest.
• Earlham answered to tie the game, but the Bison would go on to score two-straight goals to close out the first quarter with a 3-1 lead.
• Bethany kept the pressure on in the second quarter and added to its lead with goals from freshmen Jacob Ranttila (Bennington, Vt./Mount Anthony Union) and Chandler Dunn (Benwood, W.Va./John Marshall) to take a 5-1 advantage into the locker rooms.
• The cold weather did not seem to bother the Bison, as they put the game away with six-unanswered goals in the third quarter to take an 11-1 lead.
• Bethany scored three goals in less than 12 seconds. Junior Anthony Helias (Erie, Pa./McDowell) ripped a shot past the Quakers goalie with 9:33 on the clock.
• Senior Bryan Uth (Hedgesville, W.Va./Hedgesville) won the ensuing faceoff and ran past everyone to score with 9:27 on the clock.
• Finally, Uth one the next faceoff and Jackson earned the groundball and beat the Earlham defenders to score with 9:21 showing on the scoreboard.
• The Bison continued to build upon their lead and out-scored Earlham 6-1 in the fourth quarter to cruise to its first ORLC win this season.

MATCH NOTES

• Uth led the Bison with four goals and two assists in the win. He was also 16 of 20 on faceoffs and had a team-high 14 ground balls for Bethany.
• Four Bison scored two goals, including Shaffer, Jackson, Helias, freshman Nicholas Melita (Fredericksburg, Va./Massaponax), and senior Shaka Conteh (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams).
• Shaffer had a team-high four assists, Jackson tallied three, and both Melita and junior Will Gatling (Baltimore, Md./Northwestern) had two.
• Senior goalkeeper Sean Rhodes (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) made four saves on five shots to earn the win. Junior Zac Wyman (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) played the final 10 minutes and made one save on two shots.
• Bethany as a team was 17 of 22 on faceoffs and were successful on 13 of 17 clear attempts.

UP NEXT

• Bethany will take on ORLC foe Chatham on Wednesday, April 11 at 6 p.m.
• Live statistical updates of the match will be available here.