MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College men's lacrosse team exploded for six first period scores and then cruised a 16-9 win over Franciscan University on Saturday (Feb. 28) afternoon.  With the win the Pioneers improve to 3-2 overall and with the loss the Barons fall to 1-3 overall.  

"Today was a good bounce back victory for our team at home," said Marietta head coach Nathan Grover. "We executed our game plan very well and played complementary lacrosse!"
 
Marietta dominated the Barons for the first 15 minutes.  On the very first possession of the game, Cadon Alkire scooped up the ball off of the face off and quickly marched up the field.  He sent a quick pass to Bret Dickerson (Troy, Mich./Troy), who deposited the ball in the net for the first score of the game.  Ryan Kenney (Edgemere, Md./Archbishop Curley) scored unassisted on the next possession to extend the Pioneer lead.  Nathan Hamilton (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City) and Jeff McKnight (Port Republic, Va./Ignite Christian Academy) added another quick goal apiece and Marietta led by four just four minutes into the game.  Hutch Melind (Wilmington, N.C./Laney) got into the act with an unassisted score and Kenney scored again, this time assisted by Tommy Imhof (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster), and the Pioneers led 6-0 going into the second quarter.  

Marietta wasted little time getting back into the scoring.  Danner Dorothy (West Stockholm, N.Y./Potsdam Central) picked up a Baron turnover and found an empty net for an early score.  Imhof added a goal four minutes later and Bryce Lotspeich (Powhatan, Va./Benedictine College Prep) bolted down the field for a break away to give Marietta a nine-goal lead at the eight-minute mark.  Franciscan finally got on the board with a pair of scores but Imhof added a score in the final minute to put the Pioneer lead at 10-2 at the intermission. 
 
Both teams traded scores throughout the third period, which kept the Barons from chipping away at the lead.  The Pioneers got goals from Imhof, Hamilton, Alec Anderson (Loveland, Ohio/Little Miami), and Cannon Fox (New Concord, Ohio/John Glenn) to keep their commanding 14-5 lead into the fourth period.
 
Franciscan tacked on four scores in the fourth period but just could chip away at the Pioneer advantage.  The Pioneers would go on to complete the 16-9 victory over the Barons.  
 
Cal Henthorne (Wooster, Ohio/St. Edward) got the start and played the first half, earning the decision.  He faced 11 shots, three of which were on goal, and made one save.  Jack Kelly (Cincinnati, Ohio/Archbishop McNicholas) played the second half and faced 26 shots, 12 of which were on goal, and made five saves.

Imhof led the way for the Pioneers with three goals and added two assists on the afternoon.  Kenney with two goals.  Dickerson was 17-of-19 in the faceoff and picked up a team-leading nine groundballs.  Alkire led the Pioneers with three caused turnovers and picked six groundballs. 
 
"There is still room for improvement but we are happy to be back in the win column and looking forward to improving more headed into spring break," concluded Grover.

Marietta will return to the field March 11 when they play the first of their two spring break games.  They will travel to Danville, Virginia to battle Averett University.  The game scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

Fans can follow all of the Pioneer teams all year long at pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on X and Instagram.