On Wednesday, Feb. 27, the Red Devils welcomed the #5-ranked Cabrini Cavaliers to Biddle Field, in what looked to be a close battle between two of the top Division III teams in the nation. Instead, the game turned into a rout, as Dickinson knocked off Cabrini 12-6.
The team’s home opener started out as a defensive struggle with neither team able to gain an advantage in the 1st quarter until the final few minutes. Chris Menard ’16 got the scoring started when he found the back of the net with just over three minutes left to play in the opening quarter. Christian Beitel ’13 then added to the lead when he found the net with just over a minute to play. Facing a two-goal deficit entering the second, Cabrini finally seemed to get their game going when they were able to tie the game with just over 30 seconds to play before the half. However, long pole midfielder Brandon Palladino ’13 was able to pick up a ground ball and give the Devils the lead for good when he scored to make it 3-2 at the break.
Rob Kendall ’16 gave the Devils the first goal of the second half to double their lead. However, Cabrini refused to go away, scoring two of the next three to make it 5-4. Tyler White ’15 and Beitel made sure Dickinson recaptured momentum, getting back-to-back scores before the third quarter’s end to give the Devils the largest lead of the night. The home team rolled from there, tallying five more goals in the fourth quarter to close out the 12-6 win. Greg Hanley ’13 made a phenomenal 20 saves on the day. Carte Moore’14 added 11 faceoff wins and fielded nine ground balls.
The Red Devils then traveled to Montclair St. on Saturday, Mar. 2. Despite coming off of a big-time victory, Dickinson would suffer no letdown against the Red Hawks, cruising to a 14-8 victory. Nick Leon ’13 led the Devils as he netted five goals on the day. Brian Cannon ’13 also had a big day for the Devils netting two goals and dishing out three assists. Hanley turned in another strong performance making 16 saves on the day and controlled three groundballs. Matt Cherry ’13 commented, “The last two games have been key victories for our squad.”
The win moved Dickinson to 4-0 overall, #4 in the rankings, and puts them in a great spot while they prepare to take on #17-Roanoke on Saturday, Mar. 9. That game is set to start at 2 p.m. and will be a great match up between these two programs. Cherry went on to say, “The Roanoke game has turned into a great rivalry game the past couple years and it will be great to continue our win streak this Saturday.”