Under the lights of Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on April 11, six men’s lacrosse seniors clinched their final home game, a Patriot League win that landed the team a berth to this year’s Patriot League Tournament. David Dickson ’15 achieved a career high nine points, and his supporting attackmen, Sean Doyle ’16, and Todd Heritage ’14, racked up multiple points to put the Bison up 13-1 against Patriot League opponent Lafayette.

A spectacular defensive effort kept the Leopards out of the Bison net for the majority of the game, marking the first time the Orange and Blue were able to limit a team to one point since 2001 against Holy Cross. Jackson Place ’14 played his last home match with vigor, causing four turnovers and maintaining his rank as second in the nation for CTs.

“Everyone was really pumped, and I think that definitely fueled us to play with a lot of energy all game. We want to keep this going until June,” Place said.

As a whole, the Bison forced 25 turnovers, allowing the Leopards to only convert 8-22 clears on the night. The combination of outstanding defense and a persistent offense led to the 12-point lead, a result of the 55-19 shooting difference between opponents.

Goalies Sam Grinberg ’15 and Frank Morelli ’15 each recorded saves to keep Lafayette’s mark on the scoreboard low. Although they came close, the Bison were not able to record a shutout, which would have made them the third team in Bison history to do so.

With the work of Dickson and Doyle in the first quarter, the Bison jumped to an early lead that only increased as the game continued. Goals by Peter Burke ’14, Ryan Joseph ’15 and Thomas Flibotte ’16 created an even larger gap before the fourth quarter, when the majority of the bench was able to take the field.

“Our goal was to be unselfish and make the extra pass. We knew what had to be done in order for us to be successful and we went out there and did it,” Doyle said.

The boosted Bison record now stands at 4-3 in the Patriot League, putting the Orange and Blue in a tie with the Colgate Raiders in the standings. The final seeding for the Patriot League Tournament will be determined after the Raiders take on Army, and the Bison battle No. 1 Loyola.

In addition to Heritage, Burke, and Place, seniors Tom Black ’14, Tyler McLamb ’14 and Sam McDonough ’14 were honored for Senior Night.