CHC men’s lacrosse skins Wilmington Wildcats, 14-5

Posted 4/22/19

CHC sophomore defenseman Connor O’Donnell (right) puts pressure on Jake Walsh of visiting Wilmington University. (Photo by Tom Utescher)[/caption] by Tom Utescher A pleasant afternoon turned into a …

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CHC men’s lacrosse skins Wilmington Wildcats, 14-5

Posted

CHC sophomore defenseman Connor O’Donnell (right) puts pressure on Jake Walsh of visiting Wilmington University. (Photo by Tom Utescher)[/caption]

by Tom Utescher

A pleasant afternoon turned into a chilly evening last Wednesday at Chestnut Hill College’s Victory Field, but the Griffin stickmen never cooled off as they rolled past visiting Wilmington University, 14-5.

A sophomore from the far side of the continent, British Columbia’s Carson Rees led the attack with five goals and one assist, and his classmate from Long Island, J.R. Howell, recorded a hat trick and assisted on another goal. Freshman goaltender Austin Jones made a dozen saves as CHC raised its overall record to 8-4 and remained undefeated in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, at 3-0.

The electronically generated Griffin’s screech that plays over the public address system after every CHC goal was heard just three-and-a-half minutes into the contest as Rees launched his game-high scoring performance. He assisted on a marker by senior Casey Brown later in the period, and coming up on the final minute of the opening quarter the Griffins went up 3-0 thanks to junior Scott Wilden.

Rees and Howell each penetrated the Wildcats’ den during the first five minutes of the second quarter, making it 5-0 before Wilmington got on the board with a goal by Sean Sheehan with one minute and 12 seconds remaining in the first half.

Chestnut Hill still had the last word before the intermission, though, with Howell putting in his second goal with just 25 ticks on the clock.

Down by five goals, Wilmington got off to an inauspicious start in the second half, committing a penalty almost immediately. John Bennett, a senior who is a Plymouth Meeting resident, cashed in for Chestnut Hill with a man-up goal.

When the Wildcats got back to full strength they executed well on offense for a brief span, with Dylan McCleaft netting back-to-back goals to make it 7-3.

Three different goalscorers countered for the Griffins. Wilden, freshman Steele Mylroie and sophomore Ben Revak sent CHC into the fourth quarter with a 10-3 advantage, with Wilden squeezing in his shot with just four seconds left in the third frame.

Over the first nine minutes of the final round, the score rose to 12-5 as the third and fourth goals for the Griffins’ Rees were sandwiched between strikes by Austin Wood and McCleaft for the visitors.

Things got a little chippy along the visitors’ sideline as frustrated coaches tried to instruct backtalking players. On the Chestnut Hill side, the most vocal suggestions to players out on the field were made by the assistant coaches, while head man Mike Terranova calmly supervised.

Of course, there wasn’t much reason for discord on the home team, since the Griffins had taken command much earlier in the contest.

After Howell and Rees completed their evening’s work to lock in the final score, CHC walked away with a nine-goal victory.

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