BETHANY, W.Va. – The Thiel College men's lacrosse team defeated the Bethany Bison 13-8 Saturday in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) opener for both teams.
 
Trailing 3-1 at the end of the first quarter, the Tomcats outscored the Bison 4-1 in the second quarter to hold a 5-4 lead at halftime.
 
Zach Melin (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon) scored 2:09 into the second quarter on a pass from Bennett Medyn (Macedon, N.Y./Palmyra Macedon). After a Bethany goal, Chase Lawler (Etters, Pa./Red Land) scored with 5:24 remaining in the first half after receiving a pass from Dylan Waskiewicz (York, Pa./Red Lion).
 
Medyn did the rest of the damage for the Tomcats in the second quarter. He scored the game-tying goal at the 4:42 mark. Medyn scored the go-ahead goal 40 seconds later. Thiel refused to give up the lead throughout the remainder of the game.
 
Medyn led all players with seven points and six goals. Chase Lawler (Etters, Pa./Red Land) scored three goals while Melin tallied three points (2G, 1A) and recorded 11 ground balls. Nick Sylvis (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) contributed two goals.
 
Alex Andreozzi (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) led the Tomcats on defense with five caused turnovers. He also picked up six ground balls. Scott Van Iderstine (Erie, Pa./McDowell) tallied four caused turnovers and three ground balls while Evan Whiteside (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) won eight faceoffs.
 
Josh Allegra paced the Bison with three goals.
 
Jason Masciantonio (Wernersville, Pa./Conrad Weiser) made 16 saves to earn the win. Andrew Smith made 27 saves for Bethany.
 
The Tomcats will play the Allegheny Gators on the road Wednesday. The non-conference match is set to begin at 7 p.m.