Box Score STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — The Tomcat men's lacrosse team picked up its first win of 2013, pulling out an 11-8 win over Franciscan University of Steubenville on Saturday.

The Barons of Franciscan came out swinging in the first quarter of play as they notched their first goal just 2:39 into the contest. The Tomcats fought right back, as Carmen Papa (Salamanca, N.Y./Salamanca Central) netted his fourth goal of the season with 8:51 left in the first period to tie the game, 1-1. The Barons answered two minutes later, taking a 2-1 lead to close out the first period.

Franciscan added a third goal of the game, to increase their lead to 3-1 with 9:30 remaining in the first half. Papa scored his second goal of the contest 51 seconds later, cutting the lead to 3-2. The two teams traded goals going into halftime, as Francis Ahia (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) scored his first goal of the contest, and sixth of the year, with 1:30 left in the half to cut the deficit to 4-3.
 
The Tomcats tied the game up minutes into the second half, as Alex Casile (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) knifed through the defense to tie the game at 4-4.  Each team scored two goals to close out the half, with the Barons clinging to an 8-7 advantage at the start of the fourth period.
 
The fourth period belonged to the Tomcats as they outscored Franciscan 5-1 to secure the victory. Three different Thiel players scored in the quarter: Ahia, Sean Loney (Linthicum, Md./North County) and Tim O'Shea. O'Shea scored all three of his goals in the fourth period, and is now second on the team with six goals on the season in his freshman campaign.

Along with his two goals, Ahia finished with three assists. Dom Perella (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton-La Salle) recorded an assist, as did Zachary Macurak (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) and Papa.

The Tomcats will be back in action on March 12 when they host Hiram College. The contest in the Rissell-Schreyer Dome is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start time.