HUNTINGDON, Pa.– The men's lacrosse team defeated the Presidents in a 7-6 thriller Tuesday evening at Gibbel Stadium.
Jonathan Montoya and Brandon Simonini each tallied a pair of goals for the Eagles, while Aiden Duran, Vincent Bechler, and Charlie Newman added one each. Beaux Wojciechowski added two assists.
The first period saw each team scoring a lone goal each with Juniata leading the way. From behind the Washington and Jefferson goal, Wojciechowski connected with Aiden Duran, who found the back of the net to get JC on the board first. The Presidents answered back with less than thirty seconds in the first quarter to even the playing field.
Simonini kicked off the second period with a goal two minutes into play. Finding the ball at the edge of the center circle, Simonini skirted around his defender and fired off a shot from the right side of his offensive third. The Presidents tied the game at twos again in the fifth minute. With just less than eight minutes until half, Duran found a split second where Montoya was open and ripped a shot off before his defender caught up to him, but the ball was already in the back of the net. W&J then tied the game again at threes until JC responded with back-to-back goals before the half ended. Montoya ran down the right side of the field, beating two defenders to earn his second goal of the game. Immediately after, Wojciechowski passed to Bechler, who shot past multiple Presidents defenders securing the Eagles' 5-3 lead going into the break.
The first goal of the third saw Kolton Black and Simonini passing back and forth to draw defenders before Simonini saw his opportunity to bury the ball in the back of the net. Another back-to-back goal came from the Eagles gaining possession and Duran finding Newman right next to the crease. Newman turned and, in one swift motion, found the top corner of the net. Washington and Jefferson scored three more times in the game but couldn't overtake the Eagles as the game ended 7-6.
Wojciechowski and Heath Garamel tallied six groundballs while A. John DeFruscio added five. DeFruscio totaled four caused turnovers while Matt McCleary and Montoya tallied three, and Reuben Stoll. Justin Toney made 17 saves cementing a .739 save percentage on the day.
The men's lacrosse team travels to Scranton this Saturday, March 25, for a 1:00 pm start.
