Men’s Lacrosse blasts Chowan with three hat tricks in season opener

MURFREESBORO, N.C. – Devin Trzeciak's four goals headlined a 12-man list of scorers in the Catawba College men's lacrosse team's season-opening 20-6 victory over Chowan on Saturday afternoon.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba (1-0) peppered the hosts' net with 35 shots including 16 in the third quarter alone – producing a 10-goal barrage – compared to the 26 attempts fired by Chowan (0-1)

- Despite receiving seven man-up advantages, the Hawks only converted twice while Catawba went a flawless 3-for-3

- The blue and white possessed a 15-11 lead in ground balls and committed fewer miscues on defense to the tune of a 25-19 turnover battle

- Catawba went 17-for-30 in the faceoff realm, fronted by Cael Petroff's 12 wins

- Brady Gauntner collected seven saves on nine shots in the initial three quarters before giving way to Ben LoPiccolo who logged three stops

- In the Hawks' net, Rocco Smith went the distance and tallied eight saves in his first career start

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Trzeciak topped the stat sheet with five points on a quartet of darts and an assist, while fellow freshman Peter Geraffo sent in three strikes plus a helper

- Peyton Turner also supplied a hat trick to mark his fourth as a Catawba Indian

- Jack Mercer notched a brace, making four players with multiple goals, and dealt an assist

- Frank Cetrone and Boston Rehrer chalked up three-point days with one goal and two assists apiece

- Owen Conway hawked the Chowan offense, causing three turnovers and picking up three ground balls

- Dylan McQuarrie snatched up three ground balls as he, Eric Fruge and Ben Butterfield tallied two caused turnovers apiece

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Quarter

- Catawba got on the board less than five minutes into the contest when Trzeciak caught a feed from the restraining line and sent a bullet to the twine

- 59 seconds later, Cetrone wrapped around the Hawk goal and delivered a swift jumpshot to make it a 2-0 lead early

- An offside penalty against the Catawba Indians resulted in an extra-man chance for Chowan as Seth Mackenzie converted, halving the visitors' lead after the opening period

Second Quarter

- Chowan capitalized on its second man-up opportunity as well, receiving a minute-long advantage that resulted in Justin Hill scoring the game-tying goal

- Dylan Cienfuegos and Jordan Dash responded with goals, doubling Catawba's output in under two minutes, before Rehrer connected with Trzeciak to produce a second score for the Bel Air, Md. native

- Trzeciak directed a pass ahead of the crease to Garrett Simi whose catch-and-shoot beat the goalie, stretching the gap to 6-2 with 6:37 left in the half

- The Hawks kept Catawba quiet for the next six minutes, but a Chowan turnover with 20 seconds to go saw Rehrer sprint down the field, find and feed Trzeciak to seal the hat trick before halftime

Third Quarter

- The Catawba Indians exited halftime in a hurry, despite holding a five-goal edge, as Mercer and Turner scored just seven seconds apart – on the second tally, Petroff won the faceoff and immediately found Turner to pick up the assist

- Michael Lindsey's first career goal, another strike from Turner and a second provided by Mercer increased Chowan's deficit to double digits

- Rehrer sent a shot through for the first time in his career and Turner piled on his third goal of the afternoon

- A turnover deep in the Hawks' half allowed the blue and white to orchestrate its 15th goal courtesy of Geraffo, fed by McQuarrie

- Jack Hart added his name to the scoresheet with a drive-by bullseye as Geraffo pressured the Hawks into another deep giveaway, allowing the rookie to strike on an open net 

Fourth Quarter

- Geraffo failed to miss a beat at the quarter break, chalking up a hat trick 34 seconds into the period after coming from behind the net and tucking his shot inside the left pipe

- After surrendering 16 consecutive goals, Chowan nipped the run using strikes by Mackenzie and Thomas Rohal

- Catawba resumed its offensive blitz when Trzeciak hurled in his second man-advantage goal of the day

- Treston Gatewood and Mackenzie added Hawk scores in the final four minutes, bookending the first collegiate goal for Noah Choi as Catawba cruised to the finish line in the 20-6 victory

UP NEXT

Catawba is back in action against Mount Olive on Saturday, Feb. 8 for its home opener at noon.