By Eric Brod

Senior Writer

The men’s lacrosse team dominated in its season opener, winning a 17-2 home victory over Canisisus. The Orange and Blue displayed their depth and versatility on offense and showed how impenetrable their defense can be.

Leading the offensive attack was Nick Gantsoudes ’12, who registered a career-high five goals. He recorded a hat trick at the 10-minute mark of the second quarter, helping the Bison break open the game with eight goals in the second quarter to take a 10-1 lead. In his collegiate debut, Todd Heritage ’14 scored three goals.

“I was able to get into the comfort zone from the very beginning of the game,” Heritage said. “My teammates helped calm my nerves, and as the game progressed it was just like any other lacrosse game.”

Jake Clarke ’11 was solid on faceoffs, winning nine of 14.

The defense, led by John Collett ’11, Alex Lyons ’11 and Jason Neithamer ’12 controlled the game by keeping play out of their territory and forcing five turnovers. Goalie Kyle Feeney ’13 was stellar in the net, making nine saves on 10 shots. He was aided by a fantastic defensive effort.

“I think the defense did a tremendous job forcing their shooters into tough spots and causing turnovers,” Feeney said. “It’s hard for an offense to get anything going when they only get 16 shots in a whole game. This game was definitely what we were looking for at the start of the season.”

The Bison face a tough task in their next contest when they face off against Villanova tomorrow at noon.