PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. - - A big second quarter allowed 13th ranked Pace to power past the Wilmington University men's lacrosse team, 26-11, on Saturday in wet conditions at Northwell Stadium.
It was an 11-2 second quarter that turned the game on its head, as the Setters (2-0) went into the halftime break leading 16-5. Pace outshot the Wildcats, 65-34, for the game, including 28-7 in the second quarter. Pace won a game-high nine face-offs in the second quarter to stay on the attack as well.
TJ Caton and Josh Weston scored back-to-back goals in the first quarter for the Wildcats, giving the visitors a 2-1 lead with 9:43 to play. TJ Caton scored again in the first quarter to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead with 8:28 to play, but then the Setters went on a 5-0 run, scoring the final three goals of the first quarter to lead, 5-3.
The run continued into the second quarter, scoring the first two goals to take a 7-3 lead. Brendan Leonard scooped up a ground ball in the defensive zone and raced to goal, going all the way in to score to make it 7-4 in favor of Pace with 10:44 to play in the second quarter. But then Pace went on to score seven consecutive goals over a span of 4:25, opening up a 14-4 lead with 4:27 to play before the half. Jon Gaglione stopped the run with his first goal as a Wildcat, but then Pace scored the final two goals of the quarter to lead, 16-5, at the halftime break.
The Wildcats scored four goals in the third quarter, including back-to-back goals from Carter Earl to get within 20-11, but the Setters still led, 21-9, at the end of the frame.
Logan Stinson added two more goals in the fourth quarter, but the Setter won the fourth quarter as well, 5-2, to go on and win, 26-11.
The Wildcats were hurt by 20 turnovers in the game, including seven each in both the first and third quarters.
Logan Stinson had three goals and an assist for four points while Carter Earl had two goals and an assist. TJ Caton finished with two goals as well. Brendan Leonard had four ground balls and two caused turnovers to go with his goal as a long pole. Connor Widmer went 7-fo-10 in the face-off circle, adding three ground balls, while Carnell Lofton Jr. went 11-for-25 with a team high six ground balls.
The Wildcats have one more road game before making their home debut on Saturday, March 16. They travel to Lake Erie next Saturday for another nonconference matchup. The opening draw is set for 1:00 p.m. in Ohio.