Monmouth gets first victory against a ranked opponent

Hawks beat No. 16 ’Nova; No. 1 UNC tops Furman; Denver defeats Air Force

The Monmouth men’s lacrosse team outscored No. 16 Villanova 5-3 in the fourth quarter to win 12-10 Saturday in the season-opener for both teams at Villanova Stadium.

The victory gave the Hawks their first victory over a ranked opponent in program history.

The Wildcats took a 3-0 lead before Monmouth responded with four of the next five goals to tie the game at 4-4 midway through the second quarter. Monmouth faced a 6-on-4 man-down situation and killed off the penalties before senior Chris Daly scored the second of his two goals as part of a 3-0 run.

With the game tied at 7 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Hawks took their first lead when Tyler Keen completed his hat trick. The goal was the second of four consecutive goals for Monmouth as it secured the lead for good. Keen’s fourth goal made it 10-7 with 6:20 to go, and the Hawks held off a late Villanova rally.

NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 7, FURMAN 3: Brian Balkam made 12 saves and allowed just one goal in the final three quarters to lead the visiting Tar Heels (2-0) past the Paladins (0-3).

Balkam, who came into the game with a career high of 13 saves, allowed a pair of goals in the first quarter, which ended in a 2-2 tie. Over the last three quarters, however, he made eight saves and allowed only one goal as North Carolina eventually pulled away for the win, outscoring the Furman 5-1 over the final three quarters.

NO. 3 DENVER 14, NO. 17 AIR FORCE 6: Connor Cannizzaro, a transfer from Maryland, scored four goals to lead the host Pioneers (1-0) past the Falcons (0-1).

NO. 6 SYRACUSE 19, SIENA 6: Nate Solomon and Brendan Bomberry each scored four goals to lead the host Orange (1-0) past the Saints (0-1).

Syracuse used a 4-0 run in the second quarter to build the lead.

NO. 14 PENN STATE 21, HOBART 15: Four players scored four goals for the visiting Nittany Lions (2-0) in a win over the Statesmen (0-1).

Sophomores Nick Spillane, Kevin Hill and Grant Ament and freshman Mac O’Keefe all had four goals.

Hobart pulled to within 15-13 with 13 minutes left in the game before Penn State pushed the lead to 17-13 with 10:41 to go.

NO. 19 RUTGERS 16, ST. JOHN’S 8: Jules Heningburg had four goals to lead the Scarlet Knights (1-0) past the Red Storm (0-1).

NO. 20 RICHMOND 15, FAIRFIELD 3: Teddy Hatfield and Ryan Lee each scored four goals to help the host Spiders (1-0) beat the Stags (0-1).

State

DELAWARE 18, MOUNT ST. MARY’S 5: The visiting Blue Hens (1-1) used a 9-2 run in the third quarter to pull away from the Mount (0-1).

Jack Mangan had two goals and an assist for Mount St. Mary’s. Trupert Ortlieb finished with a game-high six goals for Delaware.

SALISBURY 9, LYNCHBURG 8: Carson Kalama (Bel Air) completed his hat trick with 5:14 left in the game for a 9-7 lead, and the Sea Gulls (2-0) held on to beat the host Hornets (0-1).