Pacers Sports Report: Spring Sports Get Underway

Women’s Lacrosse
The Pacers hosted Lycoming College on Feb. 24 for their first home game of the season in freezing temperatures. After a close loss to open the season, the women were eager to get a win under their belts. Natalie Yilanjian had a career game, scoring five goals. Avery Meighan and Kaitlyn Smith also had strong performances offensively, Meighan notching four goals and an assist while Smith gathered three goals and three assists. However, it wasn’t enough, as the Pacers fell 16-13.

The Pacers found themselves in yet another close game on Tuesday, Feb. 27 against Lebanon Valley College. The Flying Dutchmen led by four with just under a minute remaining in the third quarter. With 52 seconds left, Yilanjian found Smith for a goal and 13 seconds later, dished out another to Kortney Harry who cut the lead to two. The teams continued to battle back and forth until the Pacers found themselves within one with less than a minute left in the fourth. Meighan passed to Yilanjian, whose shot sent the game into overtime. The Flying Dutchmen would go on to score the winner with 36 seconds remaining in the first overtime period. Freshman goalie Jenna Scala notched a career high 14 saves. The Pacers will look to get back to winning ways on March 3 at Sage College.

Men’s Lacrosse
The men’s team fell in its season opener against Drew University on Feb. 24. The Rangers were off to a hot start in the first ever meeting between the two programs, netting the first seven points. Jake Plokhoy, Nick Ericson and Aiden Kilkenny were able to score from Marywood’s pressure, but it was too little too late. Marywood dropped the game 9-3 and started its season 0-1.

The team stayed at home for their next matchup against Wilkes University on Wednesday, Feb. 28. It was initially a back and forth affair with the game tied at three, but the Colonels scored three straight to make it 6-3 in the second quarter. Wilkes never looked back, edging out the Pacers by a final score of 11-8. Plokhoy continued his strong start to the season with a hat trick, and Nick Ericson and Dillon Kane both added two goals apiece. The Pacers will look to add the first tally mark in the win column on March 2 when they travel to New York to take on Mount St. Mary College.

Baseball
The baseball team traveled to a neutral site in New York to play Hobart College in both teams’ season openers. The Statesmen quickly scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning, but the Pacers responded in the top of the fourth. AJ Kuzior’s great day started with an RBI single that scored Adam Ginsberg, and Nick Ruiz brought in Vinny D’Auria later in the inning. The Pacers continued their onslaught in the fifth, as Max Slusser doubled to score Ginsberg once again. Kuzior then hit another RBI single to score Slusser. Hobart got one back in the eighth to make it a one-run game, but AJ Giannetti sealed the win by scoring in the ninth to make it 5-3. AJ Jordan got the save while freshman Charlie Hamm was credited with his first collegiate win. Marywood’s next game will take place on March 1 in Aston, PA against the University of Valley Forge.