Box Score Lafayette Hill, Pa. - (3/3/2015) – Battling the elements, the Chestnut Hill College men's lacrosse played its home opener against College of Saint Rose this afternoon. In a back-and-forth tug-of-war played within a one-goal margin – and under a blanket of snow and freezing rain – for almost the entirety of the second half, the Griffins came away triumphant on the stick of senior midfielder Nicholas Johnson (Germantown, Md.), whose go-ahead strike with 6:50 to play provided the knockout punch in a 10-9 thriller at chilly Victory Field #1.
 
Chestnut Hill College (2-1) found itself in an early hole when senior midfielder Kris Miller (Shoreham, N.Y.) staked College of Saint Rose (0-3) to a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal just 49 seconds in (14:11). But the Griffins flexed their muscles over the next 11 minutes, getting four unanswered goals – from three different players – to jump ahead, 4-1. Junior attack George Markey (Branchburg, N.J.) started the party with an unassisted tally, 1-1 (12:36), and the home side took its first lead when freshman attack Dylan Klusaritz (Slatington, Pa.) connected with sophomore midfielder Justin Albarran (Freehold, N.J.), 2-1 (10:32). Markey found the back of the net again, 3-1 (6:03) before Klusaritz joined him in the scoring column, his unassisted marker bringing Chestnut Hill College a 4-1 advantage at 3:20.
 
The Golden Knights rallied behind senior attack Kevin Fleming (Owings, Md.), who scored back-to-back goals to make it a 4-3 contest. Fleming's third score brought another tie, 5-5, at 8:16 and the teams met again at 6-6 after junior attack Tanner Fisher (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) traded finishes with Saint Rose freshman attack Matt Graham (Arlington, N.Y.). Sophomore attack Alec Dambach then gave the Griffins a jolt just before halftime, scoring twice in a 23-second span to hand the hosts an 8-6 advantage heading into intermission.
 
With snow falling steadily as second-half play began, offense was harder to come by. The Golden Knights made their next push about six minutes into the third quarter, when Graham found Fleming to slice the deficit in half, 8-7 (9:19), and junior attack Justin Golec (Northampton, Mass.) produced the third stalemate with a goal at the 54-second mark of the third period, 8-8. Dambach completed his hat trick with a man-up rocket, 9-8 (12:14), but the Golden Knights equalized for the fourth time at 8:27 on a goal by Miller, 9-9. A minute and a half later, Johnson put the Griffins ahead to stay with his second tally of the season (6:50). Saint Rose managed two shots down the stretch, but neither was on target, and Chestnut Hill College held on for the 10-9 decision.

Fleming finished with four goals for the Golden Knights, while Miller matched him with four points on three goals and an assist. Sophomore goalie Joe Shapiro (Syracuse, N.Y.) made two saves in the first half, and junior Nick Longo (Wading River, N.Y.) came on in relief to stop nine shots in the second half.
 
Markey netted a hat-trick for the second straight game, also dishing out an assist for a four-point afternoon on a team-high 10 shots as the Griffins held a 31-28 advantage in that category. Dambach's hat-trick was the fourth of his career, and Klusaritz (three ground balls) finished with a goal and two assists. Senior defenseman Frank Berry III (Mission Viejo, Calif.) captained the defensive effort with team highs of four ground balls and three caused turnovers, while freshman goalkeeper Thomas McDermott (Holmes, Pa.) collected nine saves for his second straight victory (2-1).
 
Chestnut Hill College hits the road for a date with #12 Molloy College on Saturday, March 7, the first of six consecutive contests against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division II Coaches Poll.