QUICK HITS
- Cleveland State scored seven straight goals, as part of a 12-1 run spanning halftime, to cruise past Bellarmine
- Cleveland State went 25-of-28 on faceoffs for the day
- Danny Tesler was 16-of-18 with 10 ground balls while Andrew Hamitlon went 9-for-10 with five ground balls
- CSU also had significant advantages in shots (46-24), shots on goal (35-13) and ground balls (39-22)
- Tristan Hanna had a game-high four goals, tying his career high
- Jason Sullivan had a career-high five points on two goals and three assists
- Freshman Adam Clark had a hat trick, the first three goals of his collegiate career
- Matt Manfredi and Gabe Reno both notched three points on the day
- It was the first-ever win for Cleveland State when it trailed at the end of the first quarter
- CSU scored six or more goals consecutively for the second straight game
GAME STORY
The Cleveland State University lacrosse team scored seven straight goals spanning halftime, turning a 4-3 deficit into a 10-4 lead, and never looked back in cruising to a 17-8 win over visiting Bellarmine Saturday inside Krenzler Dome.
After suffering a pair of tight setbacks to Big Ten foes to open the season, CSU picked up its first win of 2019 by putting up the most goals on the Knights since Bellarmine's 2017 season finale.
The Vikings went on a 12-1 run over a 30-minute stretch beginning early in the second quarter. A significant factor in this run was the Vikings' dominance at the faceoff X.
After losing two of the first three faceoffs in the game, Cleveland State won 25 of the final 26. Junior Danny Tesler went 16-for-18 with 10 ground balls while freshman Andrew Hamilton went 9-for-10 with five ground balls in his collegiate debut. Both players also added a goal.
Sophomore Tristan Hanna tied his career high with four goals to lead the Vikings offense while freshman Adam Clark tallied the first three of his collegiate career. Sophomore Jason Sullivan had a career-high five points on two goals and three assists while sophomore Matt Manfredi had his first-career multi-goal game as he contributed a career-best three points.
After both starting goalies made a save on the game's first two possessions, Manfredi opened the scoring on a feed from Hanna. Junior Nate Menendez scored two possessions later to put CSU up by two.
Bellarmine would score the final three goals of the quarter, the first of which was the first man-up tally scored against CSU this season, as the Vikings had difficulty turning possessions into shots.
The teams traded goals over the first five minutes of the second quarter before the Vikings erupted.
Sullivan got CSU going by scoring twice within a minute with the first goal being assisted by freshman Gabe Reno.
It took nearly eight minutes for the Vikings to score again, but it was worth the wait for the home fans.
Cleveland State scored three goals in the final minute of the half—a Manfredi tally assisted by Sullivan, a Clark man-up strike and an unassisted tally from Tesler right off a faceoff win.
That gave CSU an 8-4 halftime lead, but the Vikings continued to add on in the third. Clark scored off a pass from classmate Ryan Haigh with a man advantage before Reno found the net from Sullivan's pass.
A Bellarmine goal with just under five minutes left in the third stopped the string of seven goals running, but Hanna made sure CSU took momentum into the fourth by scoring with a single second remaining in the third quarter.
Four Viking goals within the first five minutes of the final frame effectively put the game to bed, giving CSU a 15-5 lead with fewer than 10 minutes left.
Hanna scored two of those goals while Haigh and Hamitlon also found the net. Freshman Nick Polydoras netted his first collegiate point with an assist on the first goal of the quarter while sophomore Michael Wilson provided the assist on Haigh's goal.
Junior Jared Stepka scored his first goal of the season late in the contest while classmate Jack Frickleton added his first point of the season with an assist in the final minutes.
Redshirt sophomore Caleb Espinoza made five saves while freshman Gareth Haigh made his collegiate debut in the cage late in the contest.
CSU had three man-up goals for the second time in three games. The Vikings also had nine goals by their non-starters, the second time this season they have had at least eight in that category.
Ryan Haigh and Reno both have two multi-point games in the first three contests this season. Sullivan had a second straight multi-goal performance.
Wilson now has points in each of his 16 collegiate starts.
Cleveland State will now hit the road for six consecutive games, beginning with a trip west next weekend where it will play two games in Denver's Faceoff Classic.