Bridgeport Men's Lacrosse Debuts With A 9-8 Victory At AIC

Springfield, Mass.-The University of Bridgeport men's lacrosse team made history on a chilly Wednesday afternoon in Springfield, Massachusetts, as the Purple Knights made their debut as a program and posted a 9-8 victory over the host American International College Yellow Jackets (1-1).

Bridgeport got off to a quick start on its maiden voyage, as the Purple Knights led 3-0 after the first quarter and extend their advantage to 4-0 before the hosts got on the board.  UB went into the locker room at halftime with a 5-2 lead.

AIC would then outscore the visitors, 4-2, to knot the game, 6-6, heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final stanza, the two teams traded a pair of goals to keep the contest level at, 8-8, before Bridgeport's Dewey Schoenfelder (Jr., Mt. Airy, Md.) notched his third goal of the game with 3:17 to play to give the Purple Knights' the game-winning goal.

Schoenfelder scored the historic first goal in program history just 2:50 into play, and he followed that up with another tally just over two minutes later, and he added one assist for the winners,

UB senior Nick Whelan (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) had a muti-goal day putting three past the AIC goalie as well, and sophomore Tyne Hewlette (Bayshore, N.Y.) had a fine offensive day finishing with a goal and two assists, plus he chipped in four ground balls.

James Napoli (Fr., Wantagh, N.Y.) and Noah Beard (So., Mint Hill, N.C.) completed the scoring parade for the Purple Knights, as they each registered a goal and an assist.

Connor Cullen (Fr., Levittown, N.Y) had a strong game at the X for UB winning 10 faceoffs and picking up a team-high six ground balls plus he caused two turnovers.

Freshman AJ Surian (Bayshore, N.Y.) led Bridgeport in the caused turnover category on Wednesday with three.

Bridgeport goalie Peter Nazario (Jr., Farmingdale, N.Y.) was excellent in between the pipes for the winners making a total of 15 saves.  He was particularly strong in the first half making eight stops to limit the Yellow Jackets to only two goals in the first 30 minutes of action.

Up next, the UB men's lacrosse continues its season-opening, three-game road swing taking on Southern New Hampshire University at 12 noon on Saturday in the Granite State.

PHOTO BY TAYLOR WILDES