Defensive Effort Produces SU Win over King's

SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Susquehanna held King's (Pa.) to just two goals while solid defense and timely scoring handed the Crusaders their first win of the spring in the form a 4-2 victory.

Neither team found the back of the net for the first two quarters of regulation before a three-goal, third-quarter scoring outburst proved to be the difference for SU (1-2).

The Crusaders fired off 26 shots while King's (0-3) had 22 of its own. SU forced 33 Monarchs turnovers, however, and capitalized on two extra-man opportunities.

Luke Delavan (Madison, N.J./Madison) had a two-goal performance while Pete Doelp (Essex Falls, N.J./West Essex) chipped in two assists. Tim Pastore (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) and Austen Lein (New Vernon, N.J./Madison) also got in on the scoring with Lein adding an assist, as well.

Goalie Anthony Maiorella (Mountain Lakes, N.J./Mountain Lakes) notched 12 saves in his 60 minutes of work, three in each quarter.

After a scoreless first half, it took Susquehanna less than five minutes to break the tie when Doelp found Pastore in front of the net to make it 1-0 in favor of SU.

Delavan capped off the Crusaders' third-quarter scoring with back-to-back goals over a two-minute span to hand SU a 3-0 lead with 4:39 left in the quarter.

Unfortunately King's Kevin Sweeney responded with a goal less than 30 seconds later to make it a 4-1 ballgame heading into the final 15 minutes of action.

Likewise, though, it took Lein just 33 seconds to continue the scoring for SU, netting a goal with 14:27 on the clock to make it 4-1.

While King's added a goal from Kieran McMahon that made it a 4-2 score with 10:55 left to play, Susquehanna's defense made sure the two-goal lead was more than enough, limiting the Monarchs to only six shots in the period.

The Crusaders will travel to Oglethorpe on March 6 for a 3:30 p.m. game followed by a game vs. Wittenberg in Clearwater, Fla. on March 10 at noon.

2012-03-03