Ridolfo's Six Goals Help Men's Lacrosse Slide Past Pfeiffer

MISENHEIMER, NC -- Catawba, ranked 10th in NCAA II, got six goals from Steven Ridolfo (Charlotte, NC/Providence HS/Gettysburg) in a 9-8 victory over host Pfeiffer in men’s lacrosse action on Wednesday afternoon at Lefko Field.  The win keeps the Catawba Indians undefeated at 4-0, while the Falcons fall to 1-2.

Ridolfo started things off with the only goal of the first quarter using an unassisted strike to put Catawba up 1-0 with 3:48 remaining. After Pfeiffer’s James Shepherd (St. John, NEW BRUNSWICK) scored back-to-back to start the second, Ridolfo would put home the equalizer with 8:54 to play before the half.  Kory Lutes (Orlando, FL) would assist on Tucker Hammock’s (Marietta, GA) go-ahead goal 18 seconds later before a Braden Artem (Acton, Ontario, CANADA/Christ the King HS) tally and another by Ridolfo would give the Indians a 4-3 halftime lead.

Ridolfo would score again to open up the third before a Shepherd man-up goal kept the Falcons within one with 11:32 remaining. After Freddie Turcio (Guilford, CT/Guilford HS) and Elliot Gilbert (Corning, NY) traded tallies, Catawba closed the third quarter with three straight man-up goals to grab a 9-5 lead. Trevor Sieracki (Austin, TX/Anderson HS) scored with 3:57 left before Ridolfo put home his final two with 53 and 16 seconds left in the third.

Pfeiffer made a furious comeback in the fourth and final period as Hammock scored with 12:45 left before Steven Tilmon (Orlando, FL) scored just 1:32 later. Justin Rose (Rochester, NY) would put Pfeiffer again within one at 9-8 with 6:14 to play but both sides would go the remaining six and change without finding the back of the net again.  The Indians denied the Falcons on a man-up attempt with four minutes left then Michael Pecchia (Coquitlum, BC, CANADA/Heritage Woods HS) denied Pfeiffer’s final attempt with 51 seconds to play.

Pecchia made 15 saves in net for the Indians while scooping up a team-high four groundballs. Turcio would cause five of Catawba’s eight turnovers on the day.  Shepherd led the Falcons with his hat trick while Luke Gillespie (Vancouver, BRITISH COLUMBIA) corralled a game-high seven groundballs.