NEWTON, Mass. – Lucas Stralka (E. Greenwich, R.I.) had five goals and two assists and Alex Zito (Andover, Conn.) won fifteen of his sixteen face-off attempts to help Mount Ida College snap a two-game skid and beat Mitchell 11-7 in non-conference men's lacrosse action on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.
Stralka got assists from Wyatt Sullivan (Arlington, Mass.) on three occasions, including bookending a 3-0 Mustang run to start the second quarter as Mount Ida (6-7) turned a 1-1 game into a 5-3 halftime advantage.
Mitchell (4-6) got two goals apiece from Owen LaPorte (Farmington, Conn.) and Jacob Setzko (Farmington, Conn.) and pulled back to within a goal at 5-4 with Kyle Marsh's (Oakdale, Conn.) 16th goal of the year to start the third period, but Jon Berry (Chichester, N.H.) struck with 2:27 left in the third and Mount Ida scored the first four goals of the final quarter, including two more strikes from Stralka and the second goal of the game for Peter Hardy (Tyngsboro, Mass.), who opened the scoring at 12:52 of the first period to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.
Moount Ida got 12 saves from sophomore Cam Hayward (Derry, N.H.), while JD LeMay (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) made 18 stops in the losing effort for Mitchell.
Zito grabbed ten ground balls, while Ryan Trinque (E. Greenwich, R.I.) picked up seven ground balls and Dylan Dilena (Northfield, Vt.) caused three turnovers.
Sullivan notched a goal to go with his three assists, and Eric Walker (Newington, Conn.) scored his second goal of the year.
Dan DiGioa (Glen Ridge, N.J.) had a goal and assist for Mitchell, while Aaron Sladyk (South Windsor, Conn.) recorded his 11th goal of the year.
Mount Ida returns to Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Wednesday with an important trip to Norwich for a 4:00 pm game.
The Mariners travel to another GNAC team on Thursday with a 4:00 pm game at Albertus Magnus.