READING, Pa. – The Albright men's lacrosse team outlasted local MAC Commonwealth rival Alvernia 9-6 on the road on Wednesday.
 
The Lions earn their first MAC Commonwealth win and improve to 1-6 in conference and 5-10 overall. Meanwhile, the Golden Wolves fall to 0-7 in conference and 1-14 overall.
 
First-year Jack Burke fueled Albright's offense with four points on three goals and one assist. Burke also grabbed a season-high 12 ground balls. Sophomore Tyler Richards followed with three points on one goal and two assists.
 
Albright got off to a slow start as Alvernia jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening seven minutes of action. Burke finally got Albright on the board at the 3:17-mark behind a feed from Richards to close out the first quarter.
 
Senior Shane Early tied the game at two just over a minute into the second frame with an unassisted goal. Burke capped of the Lions three-goal run with an unassisted score at the 6:03-mark to put Albright in front 3-2. The Golden Wolves snapped the run at the 5:09-mark with a goal to tie the game back up at three. Sophomore Jon Alvarez capped off the first half with less than 30 seconds remaining with a man-up goal assisted by Richards to give the Lions a 4-3 lead entering the break.
 
Richards had the first score for Albright coming out of the half to extend the Lions lead to two. Alvernia responded with back-to-back scores to tie the game back up at five. The Lions took the lead once more as senior Terrell Ringgold found the back of the net at the 3:27-mark. Alvarez followed at the 2:08-mark with a goal behind a feed from first-year Ryan Houghtaling. Burke capped off the third with a goal in the final seconds assisted by senior Jacob Cunningham to give Albright an 8-5 lead.
 
The Lions notched their final score at the 10:03-mark of the fourth behind a Cunningham goal assisted by Burke. Alvernia found the back of the net once more at the 2:39-mark but were unable to overcome their deficit as Albright claimed the 9-6 conference victory.
 
Albright held a commanding 50-30 shot advantage over Alvernia. The Lions also won the battle for ground balls 64-43 and force the Golden Wolves into 30 turnovers. Meanwhile, Alvernia grabbed 11 faceoffs to Albright's eight. First-year goalkeeper Ethan Hendershot earns the win for the Lions with six saves in 60 minutes of action. Despite making 16 saves in the full amount of play, Dane Sabarese receives the loss for the Golden Wolves.
 
Albright will close out the 2022 season on Saturday as they travel to Hood for MAC Commonwealth action at 12 p.m.