OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Stevenson University men's lacrosse junior Steve Kazimer (Syracuse, N.Y./Henniger) scored a game-high three goals, including the game-winner with 3:21 remaining in the third quarter as the No. 5-ranked Mustangs held on for a 7-6 victory over Widener Saturday at the Caves Athletics Complex.

Kazimer finished the game with four points to lead Stevenson (1-0) who won their fourth-straight at home. The team is also 5-0 in season openers under head coach Paul Cantabene compared to 5-4 in the nine years prior to his arrival in 2005.

Widener (0-1), who made its seventh appearance in the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship a year ago after winning its fourth consecutive MAC title, was led by Justin Upp's two goals and one assist.

After Kazimer's third goal of the game gave the Mustangs a 7-4 lead, Upp scored off an assist from Andrew Janusz just two minutes later before netting another only 40 seconds into the fourth quarter to pull the Pride within one.

With under five minutes to go, Stevenson junior Geoff Hebert (Lutherville/Dulaney) made back-to-back saves on J.J. Hoeffler and Shane DeHaven to preserve the one goal advantage with 4:03 remaining.

The Pride, who outshot the Mustangs 7-4 in the fourth quarter, had two chances to tie the game in the final minute.

After a shot by Hoeffler went wide, senior Austin Hale (Baltimore/Eastern) caused a turnover by Janusz that was picked up by sophomore Ian Hart (Chester, Pa./Ridley).

However, Widener's Cory Malampy's caused turnover and resulting ground ball on Stevenson sophomore Jimmy Dailey (Westminster/Winter Mills) gave the Pride one more shot at forcing overtime with 22 seconds left following a timeout.

With 10 seconds remaining, Hoeffler attempted to split to Mustang defenders and in doing so, the lost the ball out of his stick where senior Chris Baldwin (Baltimore/Calvert Hall) picked up the ground ball to seal the victory for Stevenson.

Junior Richie Ford (Baltimore/Towson), who finished second in the nation in scoring a year ago, had two goals as did Salisbury senior transfer Brett Yoder (Parkton/Hereford) in his first game as a Mustang.

Hebert had 10 saves to lead a Stevenson defense that held a 32-21 edge in ground balls.

The Mustangs return to action next Saturday when they travel to No. 11 Stevens. Game time is at 1:00 p.m.

Score by Period       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Widener.............  2  2  1  1 -  6
Stevenson...........  3  2  2  0 -  7
 
Attendance: 752
 
Widener SCORING:
GOALS: Justin Upp 2; Andrew Janusz 1; Johnny Casey 1; Cory Malampy 1;
       Lee Petroski 1.
ASSISTS: Johnny Casey 1; Andrew Janusz 1; Kevin McLemore 1; Justin Upp 1.
 
Stevenson SCORING:
GOALS: Steve Kazimer 3; Richie Ford 2; Brett Yoder 2.
ASSISTS: Jimmy Dailey 2; Greg Furshman 1; Ian Hart 1; Steve Kazimer 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Widener............. 11 10  7  7 - 35
Stevenson...........  8  8  9  4 - 29
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Widener.............  7  5  6  3 - 21
Stevenson...........  8  8 10  6 - 32
 
FACE-OFFS BY PRD       1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
Widener.............  2-5   1-5   1-4   1-2  -  5-16
Stevenson...........  3-5   4-5   3-4   1-2  - 11-16
 
CLEARS BY PERIOD       1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
Widener.............  6-7   6-7   5-7   8-8  - 25-29
Stevenson...........  7-7   4-5   3-8   5-5  - 19-25
 
EXTRA-MAN OPPS         1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
Widener.............  1-3   0-2   0-1   0-0  -  1-6
Stevenson...........  1-2   0-1   1-1   0-0  -  2-4
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Widener.............  2  2  2  3 -  9
Stevenson...........  2  3  3  2 - 10
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Widener.............  7  4  9  5 - 25
Stevenson...........  4  5 10  4 - 23
 
PENALTIES - Widener 4/3:30; Stevenson 6/4:30.

2009-02-21