LAKEWOOD, NJ. (Feb. 25, 2023) - Georgian Court Men's Lacrosse picked up their first win of the season this afternoon as they defeated the College of Saint Rose 11-10. The largest lead at any point during the game was four in the tightly contested battle. GCU scored the game-winner with 6:29 to play then their defense held on for the one-goal win. The win puts the Lions at 1-2 this season.

How it Happened
• Possession time was mostly even. Saint Rose ripped off more shots while the Lions tried to run more of their set offense.
• The Golden Knights totaled 53 shots, putting 34 on net. The Lions meanwhile shot the ball 35 times with 22 hitting the net.
• Georgian Court won the face-off battle 14-11. They turned the ball over more than twice as much though, 25-12.
• On the ground, the Golden Knights scooped up 40 to the Lions 33 ground balls.
• GCU committed three penalties totaling 1:30 of man-advantage time. The Golden Knights committed two penalties, each one minute in length. Neither team was able to score with the extra-man.
• The teams traded goals throughout the first quarter. Daniel Burnham got the first just 49 seconds into the game with an assist from Brett Bridges.
• Bridges then found the back of the net himself for the Lions next goal. Tied at two, Burnham scored his second with just 13 ticks left in the period for a 3-2 GCU lead.
• Bridges and Vincent Giunta scored back-to-back to start the second and with 10 minutes left to play in the half, GCU led 5-2.
• Saint Rose answered with two goals of their own before Burnham scored his third goal in less than 22 minutes of play.
• Still a one-goal game at 6-5, Georgian Court got goals from James Sanford and Michael Ventresca to finish the half up three, 8-5.
• Tallen Smith gave the Lions their largest lead of the game, 9-5, with 12:33 to go in the third, but it became a defensive battle after that.
• The Golden Knights outscored the Lions 5-2 the rest of the way, four of the goals coming from Cam Smith. They lit the lamp three times late in the third to get back to within one, 9-8. Tallen Smith added another late GCU goal and with one period left to play, GCU led 10-8.
• Less than five minutes into the final quarter, the Golden Knights scored twice in a 50 second span to tie the game at 10.
• GCU made sure Saint Rose never took the lead though. With 6:29 left to play, Ventresca scored for the second time to regain the lead for the Lions 11-10.
• The Golden Knights never tied again thanks in large part to freshman netminder Vincent Burkhart. He made four saves after GCU went back on top, two coming back-to-back just 16 seconds apart. He came up big again on Saint Rose's final possession, making a stop with 16 seconds to play as Georgian Court ran out the clock on their first win of the season.

Lion Stat Leaders
• Burkhart finished the game making 24 saves in net and sported a 70.6 save percentage.
• Tallen Smith totaled a team-best five points with two goals and an assist.
• Daniel Burham scored three times, all in the first half and added an assist and three ground balls.
• Brett Bridges and Michael Ventresca each scored twice. 
• Justin Iannarone was 14-25 in the face-off circle with 11 ground balls.

For the Golden Knights
• Cam Smith scored four goals on 12 shots.
• Gabriel Nish added two goals.
• Noah Gibson totaled three points with a goal and two assists. He also scooped two ground balls.
•  Sam Giachinta scored and picked up five balls on the ground.
• On the draw, Eoghan Sweeney was 11-25 with three ground balls.

News and Notes
• Vincent Burkhart has made 49 saves in his last two games in net.
• Tallen Smith picked up his 30th assist of his career, the eighth Lion to reach that total.
• Justin Iannarone is just the second Lion to ever win 300 career face offs.
• The Lions win over Saint Rose comes a year after they lost 21-4 on the road in Albany.
• GCU's 10 goals are their most scored in a game this season.
• Tallen Smith, Michael Ventresca and Daniel Burnham all lead GCU with five goals on the season.

Up Next
• Georgian Court's four game homestand continues into next week. They host Adelphi Wednesday, March 1 at 3 p.m.