William Baxter
Brian Westerholt / Sports On Film
Graduate keeper William Baxter posted career highs with 16 saves and 11 groundballs in Saturday's win.
7
Saint Leo SLM 0-1
17
Winner Limestone LU 2-0
Saint Leo SLM
0-1
7
Final
17
Limestone LU
2-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Saint Leo SLM 1 2 4 0 7
Limestone LU 5 3 6 3 17

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse | | Ernest Meyers, Assistant A.D. for Media Relations

Baxter, Defense Shines in No. 10 Limestone’s Double-Digit Win

GAFFNEY, S.C. – Graduate goalkeeper William Baxter (Manchester, England) registered 16 saves in between the pipes and grabbed 11 groundballs while the defense forced 23 turnovers to help lead the nationally 10th-ranked Limestone University men's lacrosse team to a 17-7 win over Saint Leo University.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: No. 10 Limestone 17, Saint Leo 7
Records: No. 10 Limestone (2-0), Saint Leo (0-1)
Location: Saints Field
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
 
  • Baxter allowed just seven goals while recording 16 saves against 30 shots faced
  • Sophomore Chris Erneston IV (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) paced the offense with four goals
  • Freshman Mike McGarry (Wilmington, Del.) posted his second consecutive hat trick
  • Junior midfielder Tom Szalkowski (Manorville, N.Y.) added three goals for the Saints
  • Sophomore Grant Rodgers (Columbus, Ohio) finished with a pair of scores and an assist
  • Senior Gavin Kesselring (Atlanta, Ga.) tallied a goal and an assist
  • Sophomore Brandon Rabbitt (Havre de Grace, Md.) logged three caused turnovers
  • Freshman Kyle Keesee (Manorville, N.Y.) forced two turnovers and dished out an assist
  • Senior Steve Werner (Dallastown, Pa.) chipped in two caused turnovers and three groundballs
  • Senior specialist Michael Logan (Los Angeles, Calif.) went 13-of-25 at the X with five groundballs
  • Limestone outpaced Saint Leo, 52-33, in shots taken and 57-46 in groundballs
  • The Saints turned the ball over 20 times, but forced the Lions to commit 23 turnovers on the day
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
First Quarter
 
Limestone took control early, scoring twice over the first minute of play as Erneston and McGarry planted unassisted scores for a quick 2-0 lead. The Saints extended that margin to 5-0 midway through the period as Rodgers assisted on a goal before finishing off a feed from senior Mike Carpenter (Queensbury, N.Y.).
 
Kesselring scored his first of two goals on the day during that stretch before junior Jason Maddon (Walnut Creek, Calif.) put the Blue and Gold on top, 5-0, with 6:45 left in the first quarter. Saint Leo got on the board a few ticks later, but Limestone would remain in control, 5-1, with the opening frame in the books.   
 
Second Quarter
 
The Saints continued to build on their advantage with three straight goals to start the second quarter as Szalkowski tallied back-to-back scores before Erneston split the frame to make it 8-1 with 6:53 remaining. However, the Lions stayed within striking distance, 8-3, with two goals over the final minute of the half.
 
Third Quarter
 
Senior Tyler Wright (Port Republic, Md.) set up Erneston for his third goal of the day off the opening faceoff of the third quarter, but Saint Leo answered on the other end to cut the margin to 9-4. McGarry would then record Limestone's first man-up goal of the season before junior Ethan Stannard (Caledon, Ontario) found the back of the net less than a minute later as the Blue and Gold moved in front, 11-4.
 
The Lions countered with consecutive scores to cut the deficit to five, but the Saints used a 3-0 spurt to put the game out of reach. Szalkowski finished his hat trick before senior Dorian Faster (New Freedom, Pa.) and Erneston then capped the quick run as Limestone doubled up the visitors, 14-7, through three.
 
Fourth Quarter
 
The Saints pitched a shutout on defense in the fourth quarter, forcing the visitors to turn the ball over seven times over the final 15 minutes while limiting the Lions to a 2-for-6 showing on clear attempts.
 
Freshman Austin Lamoureux (Ottawa, Ontario) scored his second goal of the season, finishing off a dish from freshman Nate Senez (Efland, N.C.), before McGarry completed his hat trick with a nifty spin move through the defense. Rodgers applied the final touches off an assist from Keesee to seal the 17-7 victory.
 
TURNING POINT
 
For a second straight week, the Limestone defense held its opponent to just a single goal in the first quarter, allowing the offense to take control with five straight scores. The Saints continued to pad its lead before pulling away in the second half, including a fourth-quarter shutout, to pick up the double-digit win.  
 
NOTABLES
 
  • Over the first two games, the Saints have outscored its opponents 12-2 in the first quarter
  • Limestone has been as equally strong to start the second half of games early in the 2022 campaign with a 13-5 edge in third-quarter scoring over two games
  • The Blue and Gold improves to 13-0 all-time against Saint Leo
  • Baxter set career highs in both saves (16) and groundballs (11)
  • Erneston and McGarry have both notched a hat trick in each of the first two games of the year
 
UP NEXT
 
Limestone continues its three-game homestand when it hosts No. 20 Florida Southern College on Saturday, February 19, at 12 p.m. The Mocs will be making its first trip to Gaffney since 2015, and it will be the first meeting overall between the two programs since March 12, 2016.
 
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