The VMI Keydets were defeated 21-7 in a non-conference matchup against the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers 21-7 on Tuesday, March 22 at VMI’s Foster Stadium. Four of VMI’s seven goals were scored by junior Drew Leonard in the best individual output on offense of the season for the Keydets in defeat, while classmate Colin Bosse chipped in a pair of scores. Three Mountaineers scored at least four goals in the win, led by Brett Schmidt’s five.
VMI (2-6) never lead in the contest, falling behind 2-0 in the opening two minutes of the matchup on scores by Anthony Golden and Andrew Scalley. Leonard then scored two of his four marks at the 7:13 mark and 5:42 portion on assists by freshman Ross Whitehead and senior Lowell Patterson to tie the score at 2-2, signifying the closest VMI would be to taking the lead the rest of the contest.
The Mountaineers (3-3) closed out the half on an 8-2 run heading into the half, which was fueled by a trio of tallies by Brett Schmidt. Scores by juniors Colin Bosse in the first 20 seconds of the second quarter and a tally by Chris Rossie with 41 ticks left were a helping hand, but the Mountaineers still held a six goal advantage heading into halftime.
Mount St. Mary’s held the upper-hand in shots by a 24-22 margin, and in saves, as keeper T.C. DiBartolo had five. The Keydets managed 18 groundballs to The Mount’s 13 at the half, but were also only 7-of-15 on clear opportunities.
The offensive outpouring for The Mount continued in the second half of play, as the Mountaineers outscored the Keydets 6-2 in the third stanza. Cody Leher and Scalley scored to start off the third with a goal each, and Leonard’s third goal of the contest brought the Mount St. Mary’s lead to 13-5 with 11:23 left in the third. The Mount tacked on three more scores to take a 16-5 lead before Leonard’s final score of the day with 6:17 left as he beat a defender rolling right from the crease and split the pipes bringing the count to 15-6.
From then on, Mount St. Mary’s outscored VMI 6-1 to take the contest 21-7. The final VMI goal of the game came with 4:33 to play, as Bosse netted his second score on a man-up opportunity feed from freshman Mickey Hofmeister, giving the freshman a team-best 12 assists.
Despite the loss, VMI managed to win the groundball battle, 31-20, and were led by a game-high 11 groundballs from junior Stephen Robarge. The Mount outshot VMI 46-39, and were a pristine 4-of-5 on man-up chances to go along with 12 saves to VMI’s 7.
Each squad played multiple goalies, with VMI starter Kelly McMinn playing the first half. McMinn made four stops in his half of action, and allowed 10 goals. He was relieved by freshman Pat Johnston for the second-straight contest, who allowed six goals on two saves. The fourth quarter belonged to another freshman netminder, Mark Hargrove, who allowed five scores and had one stop.
DiBartolo played the first 54 minutes, and surrendered six goals coupled with 11 saves. He was relieved by freshman Chris Klaiber with nearly six minutes to go, allowing one goal and stopping a shot.
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