NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Behind six points from sophomore Cole Genneken, the Albright Lions men's lacrosse team earned an 11-9 win over Mount St. Mary (NY) on Saturday afternoon in non-conference play.
 
With the win, the Lions improve to 2-3 overall on the season as they avenged a 9-3 loss from a season ago in Reading. Meanwhile, the Knights of the Skyline Conference fall to 1-4 on the season.
 
The Lions won the opening faceoff and converted it just 25 seconds in as sophomore Jacob Cunningham beat the Knights goalkeeper to make it 1-0. The Knights responded following a Lions penalty to tie the game up at one on a man-up opportunity at the 11:48-mark. Genneken began his day of scoring by giving Albright the lead back at 2-1 with 8:03 left in the first quarter with his first goal of the day. Sophomore Eric Brodway extended the Lions lead to 3-1 at the 6:47-mark before the Knights came back with a goal just over a minute later at the 5:38-mark to make it 3-2. The Lions continued to stay strong on man-up opportunities as first-year Harrison Bodwell cashed in on a Knights penalty at the 4:18-mark of the first quarter to make it a 4-2 Albright advantage. Mount Saint Mary closed the first quarter with some momentum as they scored with 13 seconds left following a failed Lions clear. The Knights continued their run into the second quarter as they scored two goals within an eight second span to take their first lead of the game at 5-4. Turnovers began adding up for the Lions in the second quarter, but Cunnigham ended the Knights goal run at the 2:46-mark with a shot to the left of the goalkeeper. Albright was able to keep the score deadlocked at five into halftime following a stop in the closing seconds of the second quarter.
 
A turnover in the Knights end allowed the Lions to take the lead at the 8:57-mark of the third quarter as Cunningham found classmate Alex McKendry wide open at the top for his first goal of the game. The Knights tied the score at six with 6:24 left in the third quarter before junior Connor Graser put the Lions back in front at the 4:25-mark. Graser was able to knock the stick out of the Knights attacker hands, grab the ground ball, and lead the rush to score his third goal of the season. Albright continued to frustrate the Knights as they drew two penalties within a minute of each other late in the third quarter. Genneken converted the latter of the two to put the Lions up 8-6 at the 2:52-mark. The Knights responded by winning the ensuing faceoff, and cutting the lead back down to one at 8-7 with 1:44 left in the third quarter. Mount Saint Mary tied the game at eight at the 11:48-mark of the fourth quarter as the Lions opened the quarter with three-straight turnovers.
 
However, Genneken put the Lions ahead for good as he scored two goals within 26 seconds of each other to put the Lions up 10-8 at the 5:21-mark. Bodwell was able to keep the Lions possession alive with two ground balls following an errant pass, and found Genneken who ripped the ball just inside the right post for the first of the two goals. Genneken then converted on a man-up opportunity on the second goal. The Knights made things interesting as they scored with 2:03 left in regulation to cut the Lions lead down to 10-9. Fortunately for the Lions, Genneken put the finishing touches on the win by scoring his fifth goal with 1:31 left in regulation after causing a Knights turnover deep in their own end.
 
The Lions held a 39-33 shot advantage for the game, and an 18-16 edge in shots on goal. Albright forced 32 Knight turnovers, while each team grabbed 44 ground balls. The Lions also cashed in on a season-high man-up opportunities. First-year goalkeeper Liam Ferry earned the win after making seven saves in the full 60 minutes, while Knights goalkeeper Devin Kelley suffered the loss after making seven saves. With five goals today, Genneken eclipsed his first-year goal total of 15 in the 2019 season. Cunnigham also posted four points behind two goals and two assists.
 
The Lions return to action on Wednesday, March 11^th as they will travel to face Wesley at 4 p.m. in non-conference action.