MEADVILLE, Pa. -- The Allegheny College suffered a 9-3 loss to the visiting Bearcats of Saint Vincent College on a cool Wednesday night under the lights at Frank B. Fuhrer Field.

In one of the lowest-scoring games in program history, the Gators (4-6, 1-1 PAC) struggled to jumpstart their offense in a grueling matchup against the Bearcats (5-5, 2-0 PAC), the team Allegheny beat in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) semifinals last spring.

Although Saint Vincent held Allegheny scoreless in the first half, the Gators only trailed 5-0 at the intermission. JP Rakis (Kensington, Md./Walter Johnson) and Jack Cushwa (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg) opened the third quarter with back-to-back goals in less than two minutes. It remained a three-goal game for the next 10 minutes, leaving the window of opportunity open for a comeback.

Unfortunately for the Gator faithful in attendance, SVC scored four in a row between the third and fourth quarters. Despite being held to just nine goals, the Bearcat defense suffocated an Allegheny offense that averaged more than 20 goals per game in a pair of wins last week against Franciscan University and Elmira College.

Inside the Box Score

• Allegheny was held without a goal for the first 30:19 of Wednesday's contest.
• The Gators had six extra-man opportunities but scored only one man-up goal.
• Saint Vincent registered 49 shots, nearly double Allegheny's 25 shot attempts.
• The Bearcats won 10-of-16 faceoffs and held a significant lead in ground balls, 42-to-25.
• Cushwa (2g) and Rakis (1g-1a) each had two points, while Tomi Horsley (Salt Lake City, Utah/Brighton) added one assist.
• Defensemen Liam Kruck (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin) and Titus Smith (Newark, Ohio/Licking Valley) and short-stick defensive midfielder Griffin Cates (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) each caused two turnovers.
• Garin Stearns (Hudson, Ohio/Revere), who made a game-high 14 saves, also led all Gators with six ground balls.
• Saint Vincent goalie Garrett Ritts led the charge on defense with nine saves.
• Jonathan Nagy paced the Bearcats with four points (3g-1a).

News and Notes

• Saint Vincent broke the tie in the all-time series against Allegheny and now leads 3-2.
• Three goals are the fewest scored by the Gators in a game since falling 10-3 at Shenandoah University on March 6, 2024.
• In 10 starts this spring, Kruck has set new single-season career-highs for ground balls (30) and caused turnovers (14).
• Cushwa netted multiple goals for the eighth time in 10 games this season.

Up Next
Allegheny returns to Frank B. Fuhrer Field on Saturday, April 5, for a 1:00 p.m. PAC showdown against Grove City College.