GENESEO, N.Y. – The Baldwin Wallace University men's lacrosse team held off a fourth-quarter comeback to beat SUNY Geneseo 13-10 in non-conference action on College Field.
The reigning Ohio Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week and the NCAA Division III statistical leader for points per game, senior three-time All-OAC attack Chad Steinwachs (Buffalo, N.Y./Williamsville North), posted numbers of three goals and four assists for a team- and game-high seven points to lead BW (5-0) in the victory. Senior two-time All-OAC attack Mike Nanosky (Medina) chipped in a career-high tying four goals. Both junior All-OAC midfielder Ben Kubiak (Wooster) and senior midfielder Thomas Moesch (Ithaca, N.Y.) scored two goals each, tying a career best for Moesch.
In between the pipes, senior Academic All-OAC goalkeeper Nate Karatas (Penfield, N.Y.) registered nine saves in his fifth win of the season, continuing to work on his career-best record.
Freshman midfielder Jake Steffen was the leading scorer for Geneseo (1-3) with two goals and one assist for three points. Sophomore midfielder Jake Bucci and freshman attack Kevin Cook netted an additional two goals apiece.
Following the opening faceoff, both teams' offenses initially struggled to find the back of the net with four combined saves between the two goalies. Steinwachs finally broke the stalemate with 10:04 on the clock, scoring an unassisted goal that made him the first men's lacrosse player in school history to record 200 career points. Almost nine minutes passed before another goal was scored, this time from Nanosky, as BW held on to a slim 2-0 lead. In holding the Knights scoreless in the first period, Karatas made four of his nine saves on the afternoon.
The Knights got on the scoreboard at the 13:55 mark and tied the game at 2-2 less than a minute later. Steinwachs and Kubiak netted a pair of goals to regain a Yellow Jacket advantage but Geneseo added a pair of goals itself in the final two minutes, tying the game at 4-4 heading into halftime.
Coming out of the locker room, BW's offense made some adjustments and got into a better rhythm as the Yellow Jackets outscored the Knights 5-1 in the period. Nanosky and Moesch took turns adding to the lead by each netting two goals in the period while senior Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches' Association (IMLCA) All-West Region defender Brian Jandzinski (Lancaster, N.Y./Central) capped off the quarter with just his third career goal as BW took a 9-5 lead into the fourth quarter.
A goal from Kubiak helped the Yellow Jackets to double up Geneseo 10-5 with 12:52 left in the game but the Knights were able to quickly answer back. After Nanosky netted his career-high tying fourth goal of the afternoon, Geneseo rattled off a 3-0 run to cut the deficit down to 11-9 with 7:22 remaining. Coming out of a timeout, senior attack Blake Bower (Lewis Center/Olentangy) scored to put BW back up by three goals. However, the Knights got the lead back down to just two goals at the 6:31 mark. Two concurrent penalties gave Geneseo a chance to continue the comeback but Karatas made two crucial saves late in the man-down opportunity. Instead, Steinwachs would finish off the afternoon with his third goal to seal the victory for the Yellow Jackets.
BW returns home on Saturday, March 16, to host The College at Brockport (N.Y.) for a non-conference game at 12 p.m. inside George Finnie Stadium.
