BRYN ATHYN, Pa. – The Cairn University men's lacrosse team, in its first year of NCAA Division III competition, made history on Saturday afternoon, notching their first win and conference win in program history with a 10-8 victory on the road at Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) foe Bryn Athyn College.
 
"Our men are ecstatic about winning their first game in program history." remarked second-year Head Coach Vincent Culpepper.

"They looked adversity in the face and didn't blink. Not only did they win their first game in program history, they came back to win it. I'm proud of our men and I'm proud to be their coach!"
 
Cairn (1-6, 1-1 CSAC) got the early advantage, when sophomore Jonathan Balsamo (Manorville, NY / Eastport South Manor) scored the first goal of the contest, followed by a man-down tally from classmate Charles Cotton (Newburgh, NY / Newburgh Free Academy) to take a 2-0 lead early in the contest. Bryn Athyn (1-5, 1-1 CSAC) coming off a victory in its last bout against Keystone, had the answer with three-straight goals to take a 3-2 lead early in the second period. Cairn responded with three-consecutive tallies of its own and held a slim 5-4 lead at halftime. Balsamo gave the Highlanders a two-goal advantage with the first goal on the second half just over three minutes in, however, the Lions scored three unanswered to reclaim the lead at 7-6 midway through the third. The Highlanders continued to pressure the Bryn Athyn defense and broke through with four-straight goals, including two from Balsamo to take a commanding 10-7 lead with 3:20 remaining. The Lions recorded one more tally with under two minutes to cut the deficit to two, but the Highlander defense held on and kept Bryn Athyn off the scoreboard to seal their first victory in program history.
 
Bryn Athyn held the edge in shots (43-32), but Cairn tallied more shots on goal (21-19) in the contest. Both teams matched in turnovers (27-27). Balsamo led the Highlander offense with a career-high five goals on 11 shots, including seven shots on the cage. Balsamo was followed by freshman Allen Gregg (Coatesville, PA / Coatesville) who registed a career-high three points (one goal, two assists), while Cotton and freshman Daniel Amarante (Bronx, NY / Mount St. Michael Academy) each tallied a goal and an assists. Freshman Ethan Meiers (Plainsboro, NJ / West Windsor Plainsboro South) led the defensive effort with a team-high five ground balls and three cause turnovers, while classmate Nico Cione (Yardley, PA / Pennsbury) got his first collegiate victory after making 11 saves in the cage in a complete game effort.
 
The Highlanders will be back in action on Wednesday, April 13 when they travel to North Jersey looking for their second win in a row against CSAC counterpart Montclair State University at 6 p.m.