Fourteen goals and a strong defensive effort powered the No. 10 St. Lawrence University men's lacrosse team to a 14-5 upset win over No. 8 Lynchburg in the Saints first game of the Mustang Classic at Stevenson University in Owing Mills, Maryland on Friday afternoon.

Ben Hutchinson led the scoring efforts for the Scarlet and Brown with four goals, while Judge Murphy recorded a hat trick and an assist and Mark Mahoney added two goals and dished out three assists. Zadoc White, Sean Wiseman, Stew Hutchinson, Bobby Wells and Connor Woolley also scored for the Saints. Joe Scarfi caused a team-best three turnovers, while seven other members of the squad each caused one. Scarfi also picked up three ground balls, while Paddy Condon went 7-for-15 from the faceoff circle and picked up five ground balls. 

With two points in the first half, Murphy recorded his 100th career point wearing Scarlet and Brown.

Riley Mitchell scored the first goal of the game to put the Hornets up 1-0, but the Saints responded quickly. White tied it up with a rip off the pass from Mahoney, and from there the Scarlet and Brown went on a four-goal run to take a 4-1 lead after the first 15 minutes of play.

The Saints also brought their 'A' game on defense, causing five turnovers in the first quarter.

The Hornets opened the second quarter with a pair of goals to bring the game back within one at the 11:03 mark, but it was St. Lawrence after that.

Murphy scored his 11th of the season and sparked a nine-goal run for the Saints. In the final minute of the second quarter, Ben Hutchinson made a rush from the far sideline and scored his second of the game to give the Saints a 6-3 lead with 25.6 seconds remaining before halftime. But one goal in the final minute wasn't the end, as Mahoney scored his ninth of the season on the man-up advantage to take a 7-3 halftime lead. Mahoney's goal game with 19 seconds on the clock, just six seconds after Hutchinson's.

St. Lawrence shutout Lynchburg for the entire third quarter, outscoring the Hornets 6-0 to build a 13-3 lead heading into the final frame.

The Hornets pulled Tyler Hadley prior to the fourth quarter and replaced him with senior goaltender Patrick Moore.

After nearly 30 minutes of scoreless play for the Hornets, Lynchburg scored its first goal off the stick of Spencer Vandenberg to make it 13-4, but they were followed up by a goal from Sean Wiseman, who scored his first career goal in Scarlet and Brown.

The Saints continued their strong play on both ends of the field and sealed the 14-5 victory in the top-10 battle.

"I thought it was a great team win, from the first goal on out and over 60 minutes, said head coach Mike Mahoney. "Certainly our most complete game so far. The challenge is to recover, rest and prepare for a quick turnaround tomorrow."

Jake Rust and Finn Schmidt each finished with a goal and an assist, while Michael Kraus picked up five ground balls.

Saints' goaltender Michael Marinello made six saves and was relieved by Elliott LaGorce, who made one. Lynchburg's Hadley made seven, while Moore made three and Andrew Miller made one.

The Saints outshot the Hornets 35-29 and went 2-for-3 on man-up opportunities and locked it down on the penalty kill holding Lynchburg to just 1-for-5. Lynchburg finished with a 30-20 edge in ground balls and held a slight edge in the faceoff circle going 12-9.

With the win, St. Lawrence improved to 4-0 overall, while Lynchburg fell to 4-3.

The Saints will return to Stevenson University tomorrow afternoon to face Bates at 1:15 p.m. for game two of the Mustang Classic.