LANGHORNE, Pa. – The Cairn University men's lacrosse team lost, 16-6, in their Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) opener at home against Rosemont College under the lights at the Stillman Complex on Saturday evening.
 
Rosemont (6-5, 1-0 CSAC) held the early edge, scoring the first five goals of the contest to take a 5-0 lead at the end of the first period. Cairn (0-6, 0-1 CSAC) got on the board in the second frame when freshman Allen Gregg (Coatesville, PA / Coatesville) found sophomore Jonathan Balsamo (Manorville, NY / Eastport South Manor) for a tally. The Highlanders trailed 8-3 at the halftime intermission.  The Ravens extended their lead to a 15-4 margin before Cairn responded with back-to-back goals courtesy of freshman Jason Briant (Lake Hiathawa, NJ / Morris Catholic) and Charles Cotton (Newburgh, NY / Newburgh Free Academy) in the fourth quarter.
 
Rosemont held a narrow edge in shots (41-39) but fired 30 shots on goal compared to 14 for the Highlanders. Cairn won the ground ball battle (46-43) but Rosemont held the edge in clear attempts (16-22, 13-22). Rosemont bested the Highlanders in executing man-up opportunities, converting 50% of their chances (3-6) compared to a 2-for-9 mark for Cairn. Balsamo led the way for the Highlanders with three goals, while Cotton added a goal and an assist. Gregg finished with a team-high two assists and a career-high eight ground balls. Freshman Qion Roycroft (Baltimore, MD / Woodlawn) led the defensive front with a team-high four caused turnovers while classmate net minder Nico Cione (Yardley, PA / Pennsbury) collected a game-high 14 saves between the pipes in a complete game effort.
 
The Highlanders will be back in action on Saturday, April 9 when they travel to Bryn Athyn College for their first CSAC road game of the season at 12 p.m.