Historic Performance Propels Bison Lacrosse in ORLC Win Over Defiance
April 1 – BETHANY, W. Va. - The Bethany College men's lacrosse team gave first-year head coach Ryan Hilyer his first-career victory as the Green & White pulled their Ohio River Lacrosse Conference record to .500 with a 23-3 win over Defiance College on Friday evening.
The win not only marked the most goals scored by the Bison since the team's reboot in 2011, but the 20-goal advantage also proved to be the largest margin of victory in the new era of Bethany lacrosse.
Nine different Bison recorded a point in the game, led by a career-high 10 from sophomore Jacob Schiffer (Monkton, Md./Hereford). Schiffer finished the day with his third-career hat-trick while adding a career-high seven assists, the third highest single-game performance in Bison history.
Joining Schiffer in the scoring column were senior Grant Delaney (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) and junior Jake Holland (Canton, Ohio/Jackson) who each posted five total goals. Holland finished the day with nine points, adding four assists to his total.
In the game, Holland moved six goals away from tying the Bethany career goals record and currently sits second with 59. Delaney surpassed Kyle Arrington for third on the list, sitting just one behind Holland at 58 career goals.
Junior Tyler Peck (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) posted a career high in a Bethany uniform, finishing the game with five total points, including his first hat trick as a Bison. He also added a pair of assists.
Players securing their first-career multi-goal games included sophomore Bryan Uth (Hedgesville, W. Va./Hedgesville) and freshman Michael Loffredo (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway). Uth's tallies gave him three on the year, while Loffredo posted his first-career goals.
Other scorers for the Bison included Luke Gregor (Venetia, Pa./The Kiski School), Lamont Sweeny (Columbia, Md./Reservior) and Tim Pagano (Erie, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf). Like Uth and Loffredo, Gregor tallied his first-career multi-goal game while Sweeny added a goal and Pagano, an assist.
In the contest, the Green & White outscored the Yellow Jackets in every quarter, including 4-1 in the first. The Bison tallied the most goals in a quarter that they have all season in the second, posting seven scores to take an 11-2 lead into the half.
Bethany posted four goals in the third quarter before besting their second-quarter score with eight in the fourth.
As a team, the Green & White recorded a program-best 23 goals, while also posting 14 assists. Bethany also notched a season-best in shots, finishing the game with 74.
Not only did the Bison get it done on the offensive side, but the team also posted season highs in caused turnovers and ground balls. The Bison totaled 19 caused turnovers, including four from Steve Pluas (Mt. Pocono, Pa./Keystone) and three apiece from Kyle Hrehor (Whitney Point, N.Y./Whitney Point) and Dominic Halstead (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake).
Along with his pair of goals, Uth led the Green & White with ten ground balls. He also was an efficient 18-of-21 in the face-off circle. In his last two games, the sophomore has combined to win 35-of-41 attempts in the circle (.853).
Moving their ORLC record to 1-1 on the season, the Bison will be back in action on Wednesday, April 6 when they host the Titans of Westminster College. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.
