SCRANTON, Pa. – The top-ranked Salisbury University men's lacrosse team notched a 12-5 victory over the University of Scranton Royals on a snowy Saturday afternoon at Weiss Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Blake Epstein notched the first goal of the day less than three minutes in, burying a feed from Jack Dowd in the back of the net to score one of just two goals in the opening quarter.
• The Royals answered with their first tally almost four minutes later to tie the contest. The final nine minutes saw the back lines take command, pushing the 1-1 deadlock into the second frame.
• After a second Scranton goal to begin the period, Riley Strub fired an unassisted finish past the Royals keeper to return the game to a tie. Brice Bromwell found Luke Nestor three minutes later before Strub scored again to add to the cushion, 4-2, with just under eight minutes left in the half.
• Scranton got one back before the half expired, tightening the margin to one at the break.
• The Sea Gulls put their stamp on the third stanza, outpacing the Royals 5-2 in the span. Jude Brown connected with Nestor on a man-up chance that carried over from the first half before feeding Dowd a man-up goal 28 seconds later. Brown soon found Epstein for the team's third consecutive finish, building a 7-3 lead with less than four minutes played in the half.
• Goals by Nestor and Bromwell were sandwiched by a pair of Scranton strikes, setting the margin at 9-5 with 15 minutes remaining.
• Salisbury clamped down in the final period, stacking three more goals while facing just one Royals shot. Simba Makawa and Brown (assisted by Bromwell) each joined the scoring column before the latter dished to Strub for the final tally of the game, locking in the 12-5 final.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Riley Strub and Luke Nestor each tossed up hat tricks against the Royals. Strub added two ground balls and forced one miscue while Nestor scooped three ground balls in the win.
• Jude Brown logged four assists and one goal against the Royals while gathering four ground balls and forcing a Royal error.
• Brice Bromwell finished with three points on one goal and two assists while collecting three ground balls.
• Blake Epstein netted a pair of goals and added a ground ball.
• Jack Dowd added a goal and an assist in the victory.
• Blake Malamphy was pristine at the faceoff X, winning 18 of his 20 attempts and snatching 12 ground balls.
• Nicholas Ransom moved to 3-0 on the season with four saves across 60 minutes in the cage.

SCRANTON GAME NOTES

• Alex Eglitis and Jason Kozak led the team with two points each. Both picked up pairs of assists.
• Kyle Holmes, Joe Boyle, Pat McCormack, Matthew McAree, and Quinn Carson each scored in the loss.
• Colin Pierce caused four Sea Gull turnovers.
• Declan Allen was tagged with the loss, making 15 saves but letting in 12 while leading the team with nine ground balls on the afternoon.

UP NEXT

• The Sea Gulls flock back to the nest on Saturday, Feb. 24 to host the ninth-ranked Bullets of Gettysburg College.
• The battle is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start from Sea Gull Stadium.

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Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and men's and women's swimming, and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 23 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 197 conference championships, and 45 Academic All-Americans.

To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.