Lacrosse Dominates TCNJ Early, Cruises to school record 7th Straight Win
Taking on one loss The College of New Jersey on the road Friday, it was assumed Williamson would have their work cut out for them. The Mechanics however, dismantled those assumptions early on, as they raced to an 8-2 halftime lead and never looked back, in cruising to a convincing 11-6 win.
Williamson jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead at the end of the first period. It was then that their defense took charge, as they blanked the hosts in the second quarter, while the offense pumped in three more goals to all but put the game out of reach.
"We have started slow in several games this year but we have really excelled in the middle two periods in almost every game," shared longtime Williamson head coach Jim DeRose. "Our guys are resilient. They bounce back.
"The way we have been playing of late, if you don't put the game out of reach on us early, you better watch out. We can comeback on anybody."
The win was a school record seventh straight for Williamson and allowed them to clinch the regular season's #2 seed in the upcoming NCLL Liberty Division play-offs. The Mechanics will host #3 seed Drexel University this Friday, April 28 at time still to be determined. The two teams met back on March 4th, with Williamson coming away with an 8-5 victory. Despite that, DeRose is warning his team to not get complacent.
"We have gone from being the hunter to now being hunted. Drexel will come at us with everything they have. We have to keep at things and keep focused. The guys have worked too hard to let up now."
This marks the second straight year Williamson has qualified for post-season play, after a three-year absence prior to that. Last year the Mechanics were manhandled by St. Joes in a 12-3 first round loss. This however, is an entirely different Williamson lacrosse squad.
"Again, we have come to far to let up now. We recently saw an article that says the road to the NCLL title goes through West Chester University. For us, the road to the NCLL title goes through Drexel this Friday night. We plan to do all we can to continue to keep that ride going," closed DeRose.
Goals: Assists:
Konnor Oreskovich – 4 Matt Gallagher - 5
Matt Dickinson – 3 Matt Dickinson - 2
Cooper Conroy – 1 Copper Conroy - 1
Shane Titus – 1 Konnor Oreskovich - 1
Sean Lohr – 1
Luke Van Auken – 1
Saves: Jack Welsh - 20