Senior's Connor Kirkwood (Millburn, N.J./St. Peter's Prep) and Joe Hill (South Hempstead, N.Y./South Side) each recorded hat tricks on the afternoon, as The University of Scranton men's lacrosse team made the most of their first home game of the year at Weiss Field on Wednesday, knocking off visiting Grove City, 15-11. With the win, Scranton moved to 2-3 overall on the year, while Grove City fell to 0-2 with the defeat. Right from the opening whistle on Wednesday, the Royals attacked, as Scranton quickly opened a 4-1 lead on the visiting Wolverines in the first period. In the second, the hits kept coming from the Royals, as they extended their edge out to 8-3 after outscoring Grove City, 4-2, in the second quarter. Up by five entering the second half, the Royals effectively put away Grove CIty for the afternoon in the third quarter, outscoring the Wolverines, 3-1, in the period to take an insurmountable 11-4 entering the fourth quarter. Late in the fourth quarter, Scranton fought off a run by Grove City, as the Wolverines had cut the Scranton lead down to 11-7 early in the frame. Then, the Royals went on a quick 3-0 spurt that extinguished the Grove City comeback effort, as they opened a 14-7 lead with five minutes left. Despite the fact that Grove CIty scored four of the final five goals of the contest, it was too little, too late for the visiting Wolverines, as Scranton rolled to a four-goal win in their 2020 home opener. Overall, Kirkwood and Hill led the potent Scranton offense in the win, each scoring three goals. Kirkwood also had five ground balls and two caused turnovers in the win, while Hill had two ground balls and a caused turnover in the win. Elsewhere, senior Michael Elefonte (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon) had two goals, two assists, and six ground balls, while sophomore's Steve Apicella (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) and Mike Bouhall (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) also had two goals, apiece, in the win. Bouhall also had an assist in the win. Rounding out the score sheet for Scranton was sophomores Cole Lukasiewicz (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) and Sean Crotty (Long Beach, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial), and freshman Nicholas Donato (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy). Lukasiewicz and Crotty also recorded assists in the win, as well. Meanwhile, junior Collin Purdy (Hillsborough, N.J/Hillsborough) won 17 face-offs during the game, collecting nine ground balls. Meanwhile, junior goalie Shayne Fallon (West Deptford, N.J./West Deptford) earned the win, making seven saves on the afternoon. The University of Scranton men's lacrosse team returns to action on Saturday, when they take on Cortland on the road. Things get underway at 1 p.m.