CHESTER, Pa.—A second-half rally fell short for The University of Scranton in a 6-4 loss to Widener University in the Middle Atlantic Conference regular-season finale for both teams Saturday afternoon.

The Royals fell behind 3-0 by intermission before freshman attacker Phil Lindner (Parlin, N.J./St. Joseph Metuchen) and senior attacker Edward Boate (Media, Pa./Penncrest) added goals in the third period to cut the margin to 3-2. Cory Malampy countered with back-to-back goals off of assists by Luke Weber within a three-minute span as the Pioneers extended their lead to 5-2 with 13:30 remaining in the fourth period.

Scranton, now 7-8 overall and 5-5 in the MAC, sandwiched goals by sophomore midfielder Brendan Clifford (Kentfield, Calif./Marin Catholic) and junior midfielder Kevin Joyce (Floral Park, N.Y./Chaminade) around a goal by the Pioneers' Chris Mathews to set the final score.

Matthews finished with two goals and an assist and Weber had a goal and two assists for Widener, now 9-5 overall and 7-3 in the MAC. The Pioneers held a 37-29 advantage in shots and a 19-16 margin in ground balls. The two teams combined to go 0-for-9 in extra-man opportunities.

Senior goalie Thomas Davis (Media, Pa./Penncrest) made 12 saves, including five in the first period and three in the second, while Andrew Johnson was credited with a game-high 13 for Widener.

The two teams will meet again this Monday, April 30, in the quarterfinals of the Middle Atlantic Conference tournament beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Chester, Pennsylvania. Under the direction of first-year head coach Kevin Dugan, Scranton has qualified for the tournament for the first time since 2003.

2007-04-29