CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A 7-1 run that spanned 25 minutes in the first half propelled the MIT men's lacrosse team to a 12-8 victory over Gordon College at Roberts Field on Thursday afternoon. Sophomore Harris Stolzenberg (Weston, Fla.) generated a game-high five points on a goal and four assists to go along with five groundballs for the Engineers (5-0). Junior Roger Evans (Oxford, Pa.) paced the Fighting Scots with four goals as their ledger lowered to 3-5 for the year.

Evans posted the first two goals of the game during the opening two minutes but freshman Graham Davis (Crofton, Md.) cut MIT's deficit in half with a man-up strike at the 10:03 mark. Evans pushed the lead back up to two midway through the quarter, which would hold until the Engineers scored twice inside the final minute to even the score at three. Davis found the back of the net with 47 seconds to go while sophomore Michael Traub (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) buried the equalizer 31 seconds later.

The first part of the second stanza was a defensive battle before the hosts rattled off four unanswered goals during the last 7:44. Freshman Mitch Turley (Westfield, Ind.) registered an extra-man strike as junior Luke Verdi (Middletown, Md.) quickly redirected a feed from Stolzenberg. Junior Jonah Hessels (Laytonsville, Md.) extended the rally while classmate Paul Orrson (Baltimore, Md.) helped MIT take a 7-3 lead 47 seconds before the intermission.

Gordon ended its scoring drought at 11:52 of the third quarter when junior Michael Utz (Rochester, N.Y.) connected on a pass from senior Jordan Heckelmann (Colorado Springs, Colo.). The game became a back-and-forth affair prior to Traub registering the only other goal of the frame with 3:23 on the clock.

MIT carried the momentum into the final frame, tallying four straight goals to put the game out of reach at 12-4 with 5:32 remaining in regulation. Despite the deficit, the Fighting Scots continued to attack, putting together their own four-goal run down the stretch. Junior Jake Martin (Watertown, Conn.) sparked the late rally while classmate Ryan Utz (Rochester, N.Y.) buried back-to-back man-down strikes. Evans then capped the scoring on a solo effort with 1:19 to go.

Davis posted the third hat-trick in his five-game career as Turley totaled two goals, four groundballs, and two caused turnovers. Traub and Orrson both recorded two goals while Traub added two caused turnovers. Freshman Christian Jamison (Huntington, N.Y.) generated four groundballs as sophomore Zak Psaras (Monroe, Conn.) produced two caused turnovers. In net, junior Eric Bartell (San Diego, Calif.) compiled 16 saves and six groundballs.

Heckelmann earned a pair of assists while Martin chipped in four groundballs. Junior Peter Kovacevic (Pittsburgh, Pa.) dominated the faceoff X for the visitors as he went 17-of-23 and scooped up 17 groundballs. Junior goalie Cody Greenwald (Albany, N.Y.) finished with 14 saves and seven groundballs.

Both teams hit the road for their next outings. MIT will visit Florida Tech on Monday, March 23 while Gordon will travel to Wentworth Institute of Technology for a Commonwealth Coast Conference battle on Saturday, March 21.