DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (April 3, 2019) – Junior John Belanger scored a career-high seven goals as the FDU-Florham men's lacrosse team tallied a 13-9 victory over Delaware Valley University Wednesday.

The Devils move to 5-3 overall and are now 1-0 in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom. The Aggies even their mark at 5-5, 0-1 in the conference.

Belanger wasted no time giving the Devils the lead, scoring the opener 38 seconds into the game. Junior Mike Gartner scooped up a ground ball before feeding Belanger who beat the Aggies keeper. Off a successful clearing attempt, FDU doubled their lead nearly four minutes later. Junior John Guido found the back of the net, stretching the lead to 2-0. 

An additional Belanger tally two minutes later pushed the lead to three, before the Aggies battled back for the next two. The two sides traded the final two scores of the period, with sophomore Tyler Garcia taking a Guido pass for the goal.

The game would level off in the second quarter, with the teams tying at 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 before Belanger capped off his hat-trick with 5:42 left in the second quarter, giving FDU a 7-6 halftime lead. The Aggies peppered the Devils with shots after the goal, firing six additional shots but could not find the back of the net.

Junior Adam Reifer made seven first-half stops to keep the Devils in front, while the team had 12 successful clears compared to the Aggies three.

The Devils pulled away in the third quarter, scoring the only three goals. Belanger and senior Michael Warg scored 26 seconds apart, with the Belanger tally coming with the man advantage. Warg tallied his second of the night with 3:25 left in the frame, while Reifer was a stalwart with four third-quarter saves.

The Aggies closed to within two at 11-9, scoring three times in first 6:47 of the fourth and final frame. The Devils took advantage of a shot clock violation midway through the period, as Belanger pumped in his sixth goal of the night with 5:34 left.  The junior capped off the night with 1:18 left, as rookie MacGyver Hay executed a perfect clear and found Belanger for his seventh and final marker of the night,

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
•    Belanger's previous high was six goals set on February 24, 2017, against Rosemont College. It was the most in a game since Frank Reda tallied nine against Maritime on March 5, 2014.
•    Hay recorded his second career assist and led the defensive efforts with four caused turnovers and eight ground balls.
•    Freshman Zane Johnston dished out a career-high five assists, while Guido added a goal and an assist.
•    Senior Michael Adragna caused five turnovers on the defensive end while adding two ground balls.
•    Reifer made 14 saves, the fourth straight game he's made 13 or more stops in earning his fifth victory of the year.

UP NEXT
The Devils host King's on Saturday at 1 p.m. Before the game, the team will honor the Senior Class of 2019 in a pregame ceremony.