BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian College men's lacrosse team scored twice in the final 1:44 to cap a rally from being down 3-0 to post a 5-4 victory over visiting The Catholic University of America Saturday on John Makuvek Field as junior attack Mark Laratta netted the winning goal with 6.5 seconds left.
"It was a good day for us. We played hard and kept the game close in the 4th," stated Head Coach Dave Carty. "We knew if we could get Mark freed up, he could hit the shot in the last 17 seconds. Catholic has been a really strong team in the Landmark and as a third-year team, it's great to get that win for our program."
The Hounds, now 6-6 overall and 2-3 in Landmark Conference action, had four different players score with Laratta contributing two goals and two assists to go with a pair of ground balls. Junior attack James Carroll, junior midfielder Austin Adams and sophomore attack Cade Siddron each tallied one goal.
Junior goalie Kurt Dick made 15 saves in the contest while sophomore long stick midfielder Jimmy Schicke had a team-high five ground balls. Freshman defender Tanner Leslie added four ground balls and three caused turnovers while junior defender John Polich had three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Junior midfielder Rick Guerra won 5-of-13 face-offs to go with three ground balls while Brian Biase had three ground balls and junior midfielder Hayden DuPont added two ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. Carroll and junior midfielder Alec Oriolo each contributed two ground balls.
Catholic scored the only two goals of the first quarter to lead 2-0 after 15 minutes of action, and the Cardinals took a 3-0 advantage nearly four minutes into the second quarter. Carroll would get the Greyhounds on the board with 7:40 left in the first half while Siddron made it a one-goal contest with 18 seconds until the intermission.
Laratta netted the only goal of the third quarter to knot the score at 3-3 after 45 minutes of play. Catholic moved back in front with 10:11 showing on the clock before Adams tied the contest again with 1:44 remaining. After the Greyhounds' defense made a stop, the Blue and Grey quickly moved the ball in the offense zone to get a time out. After the stoppage, Laratta let his winning shot fly from the left side into the net as Moravian won its second straight home Landmark Conference contest.
The Greyhounds are scheduled to return to action on Tuesday, April 24 in a non-conference match versus the College of Mount Saint Vincent beginning at 7:00 p.m. on John Makuvek Field.
