PURCHASE, N.Y. (March 10, 2019) – The SUNY Delhi men's lacrosse team gathered their second road win in as many days Sunday, closing out their weekend road trip with a 13-7 victory at Purchase. Just 24 hours after their 15-5 triumph at Wells, the Broncos held a modest 7-5 lead over the Panthers at halftime, then dominated the second half, including shutting out their hosts in the third quarter. Delhi stands at 2-2 on the season.
Purchase got on the board first with a Dan Ohrem goal with 13:28 to go in the first. Delhi's top goal scorer John Rohan got things started for the Broncos with a game-tying score almost two minutes later, then assisted on a Travis Biggs goal with 7:14 to go in the period for their first lead at 2-1. Ohrem answered again with a goal to tie things up, which was followed by back-and-forth goals from both sides to end the quarter. Biggs connected again with 4:15 to play in the first, then Panther Ben Erkan netted an equalizer with 2:20 left, and concluding with Brandon McGrath putting Delhi back on top with a go-ahead goal with 1:29 remaining to close out the period with Delhi up, 4-3.
The Broncos finally got some breathing room when Biggs' third goal of the day gave them a 5-3 lead to start the second quarter. It would be short-lived, however, as Purchase tallied the next two goals to tie things again at 5-5. That was when Delhi began to dictate the game, as the team's two leading scorers in Rohan and Malik Talbert accounted for the Broncos' next two respective goals to give Delhi a 7-5 halftime lead.
Delhi's defense played a major factor during this stretch. Along with shutting out the Panthers for the remaining 9:12 of the first half, the Broncos held their hosts scoreless throughout the entire third quarter, which paved the way for four consecutive Delhi goals. Talbert and Rohan started the third each stepping up with a man-up goal apiece, followed by a Jacob Nygard score and Talbert's third goal of the day to enter the fourth ahead, 11-5. While Purchase finally broke its cold spell with a goal to open the fourth, Rohan and Brian Conti each connected for scores to give the team a comfortable 13-6 lead, its largest of the game, with 5:15 to play. A late Panthers goal with under one minute accounted for the final score.
Rohan and Biggs both finished with six points, with Rohan gathering four goals with two assists and Biggs three goals and three assists. Talbert had four points on three goals and one assists. Freshman goalie Travis Anderson totaled a year-best 17 saves, including eight during Purchase's scoreless stretch from the second quarter to the fourth. Delhi outshot Purchase, 44-32, including a substantial 15-3 advantage in the third period. The Broncos were also successful on 12-of-13 clear attempts, and scored on 2-of-3 man-up opportunities to the Panthers' 2-of-4. Delhi also won 14 faceoffs to Purchase's nine, with Nick Dower winning 12 and one each from Conti and Parker Adkins.
Rohan and Talbert are both tied for the NAC lead in scoring with 15 points, as well as Rohan leading with 12 goals and Talbert first with five assists. Biggs boosted his scoring totals to third in the conference with ten points on six goals and four assists. Anderson leads the NAC with a 9.25 goals against average, and ranks second with a 58.4 save percentage.
Head coach Sam Miller's team have one more road test before beginning their home season, facing Cazenovia on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. The Broncos then will welcome Maine Maritime in their home opener on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at SUNY Oneonta.
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