UNION, N.J. – Kean University scored the first eight goals of the game to put the game away early as the host Cougars defeated the Manhattanville men's lacrosse team by a 10-3 score in a non-conference matchup on Thursday afternoon at Kean Alumni Field.

Four different Kean players recorded two goals on the afternoon, while senior Josh Morales and junior Scott Leathem also added one assist each for a game-high three points.

Three different Manhattanville players found the net on the afternoon, as junior Andrew McMillin (Garden City, N.J.), freshman Joe Daly (Mahopac, N.Y.) and sophomore Mike Strauss (Newark, Del.) each scored once. McMillin also recorded an assist for a team-best two points.

Junior John Gesumaria earned the win for the Cougars by making eight saves on 11 shots on goal before being replaced in the final 2:17 by sophomore Greg Egan. Manhattanville junior netminder Andrew Predun (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) made 12 saves on 22 shots in the loss.

Kean started the game quickly, as Eric Gillar scored the game's first goal unassisted only 43 seconds in. Leathem notched his first of the game just under four minutes later to extend the lead before junior Anthony Bertucci scored once in the first period and then tallied the only goal of the second stanza to give the Cougars a 4-0 lead at the half.

Holding a 12-5 edge in shots after the first 30 minutes of play, Kean scored on four of its six shots on goal in the third quarter to put the game away headed into the fourth. All of the team's scoring came in the final 6:19 of the quarter, beginning with a score by senior Josh Jordan and ending on a man-up tally by Leathem that came with just one second remaining in the third frame.

McMillin finally got the visitors on the board with a man-up tally of his own 49 seconds in the fourth quarter, and Daly followed a few minutes later with his second of the season off an assist from McMillin to make the score 8-2.

Morales squashed any hope of a Valiant comeback, however, scoring twice in 1:02 midway through the final period before Strauss ended the scoring with 2:17 left in the contest.

Manhattanville (1-1, 0-0 MAC) will take a trip toward the West Coast for Spring Break, as the Valiants will head to Colorado Springs, Colo., to take on Colorado College on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. EST. Kean (1-1) returns to action on Saturday against Mount Ida College.

2009-03-06