RICHMOND, Va. – Attackman James Pannell led all scorers with four goals to elevate No. 8 Virginia against Richmond 13-12 on Saturday afternoon in front of 4,249 fans at Robins Stadium. It was the inaugural game for the Richmond men’s lacrosse program.
The win for Virginia was the 350th career win for Virginia head coach Dom Starsia, and his 249th victory as the head coach at UVa.
Virginia won the battle of shots (46-24), ground balls (43-31), while faceoffs were a draw (14-14).
Mark Cockerton, Greg Coholan and Tyler German all had two goals. Scott McWilliams and Joseph Lisicky each caused four turnovers, while Tanner Scales caused three turnovers. Mitchell Goldberg led Richmond with three goals and two assists. Dan Ginestro earned the honor of scoring the first goal in Richmond men’s lacrosse program history
No. 1 Duke 16, Jacksonville 10
DURHAM, N.C. -- Attackman Josh Dionne scored five goals to lead No. 1 Duke past visiting Jacksonville 16-10 in the season opener for both squads on Saturday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium. Jordan Wolf chipped in six points off of a pair of tallies and four assists.
The Blue Devils shook off an early 3-0 deficit to win its seventh season opener in eight years under head coach John Danowski. Saturday’s contest marked the return of Duke defenseman Casey Carroll, who last played collegiately on May 28, 2007, in the Blue Devils’ 12-11 loss to Johns Hopkins in the NCAA title game. Carroll, who served in the U.S. Army from 2007-12, missed the 2013 campaign due to a knee injury.
For Dionne, the five goals matched his career-best outing set previously against Virginia on April 12, 2013.
At the faceoff X, Brendan Fowler won 18 of 28 draws and secured 16 ground balls. In the Duke net, Kyle Turri was credited with two saves to improve to 17-2 for his career.
Jacksonville’s Pete DeLuca was terrific in the Dolphin net, posting 18 saves. Dakota Rohlin paced the Dolphins with three goals while Duncan Clancy carded two goals and three assists.
No. 4 Denver 14, Air Force 8
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Led by a five-goal performance from Wesley Berg, No. 4 Denver topped Air Force 14-8 on Saturday afternoon from Falcon Stadium to open the 2014 season.
Transfer Jack Bobzien led the Pioneers in points as he finished with four goals and two assists, while Jeremy Noble posted five points off one goal and four assists. Zach Miller finished with three goals and an assist in his debut, while Tyler Pace scored one goal and tallied two assists.
Jamie Faus made eight saves, while allowing five goals in three quarters, and Ryan LaPlante tallied three saves and allowed three goals in the fourth quarter.
Tommy McKee led the Falcons with three points off three goals, while Keith Dreyer finished with one goal and two assists for three points. Goalie Doug Gouchoe made seven saves in 49:53 minutes of action.
Air Force led the advantage in shots (44-33) and ground balls (25-24), while also winning 16 of 25 faceoffs.
No. 6 Maryland 16, Mt. Saint Mary's 3
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Freshman Matt Rambo made his Terrapin debut a memorable one with four goals and two assists to lead No. 6 Maryland to a 16-3 victory against Mt. Saint Mary’s on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,203 at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.
Midfielder Mike Chanenchuk had three goals and an assist, while attackman Jay Carlson also chipped in with a hat trick for the Terps, who opened the season with a victory for the 21st consecutive season.
Rambo’s six-point effort is the most points for a Terrapin making his Maryland debut since 2004 when sophomore Xander Ritz had seven points on three goals and four assists in his first game after transferring from Delaware. Rambo’s four goals were the most for a Maryland freshman in his collegiate debut since 2008 when Grant Catalino score four times in an 11-6 win at Georgetown.
No. 7 Penn State 22, Michigan 7
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Seventh-ranked Penn State scored the first 10 goals Saturday at Holuba Hall en route to a 22-7 win against Michigan. Shane Sturgis tallied a career-high six goals and TJ Sanders scored five goals for the fourth time in his career in the win.
The Nittany Lions scored the most goals since a 21-7 victory against Lafayette on March 26, 1994. The six goals by Sturgis were the most by a Penn State player since 2009 when Jack Forster notched the feat vs. St. John's on April 11, 2009. The 15-goal margin was the largest since a 20-4 victory over Stony Brook on April 8, 1995.
Penn State opened the game with a goal just six seconds after the opening faceoff as Sturgis put away a feed from face-off man Drake Kreinz. The Nittany Lions outscored the Wolverines 6-0 in the first five minutes and 8-0 in the opening frame.
