Galloway, NJ – Stockton University (3-0) led wire to wire as the Ospreys defeated Southern Virginia University (3-2) 18-10 on Saturday afternoon. Erik Anderson (Monroe Twp./Monroe Twp.) scored three goals and had six assists for nine points to lead the Ospreys.

The Knights, whose trip to Stockton for the game was marred by a fire that destroyed their bus and some of their belongings, were in the Also Receiving Votes section of the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) poll.

In a defensive first period, Stockton was able to pot the first two goals of the game for a 2-0 lead after 15 minutes of play. Luc Swedlund (Randolph/Randolph) and Joey Tiernan (Voorhees/Eastern) gave the Ospreys a two-goal margin. Tiernan's tally was a man-up score.
 
Tiernan scored his second of the night at 13:26 of the second period, then 28 seconds later, Jon Liguori (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) nailed his second of the season for a 4-0 lead. The Knights then answered with three straight goals to cut the margin to 4-3 with 5:41 left in the half.
 
Stockton was able to stave off the short rally by scoring three more times for a 7-4 lead at the break. Anderson tallied twice and Swedlund added a solo score for the goals.
 
Starting the third frame, Southern Virginia scored to make it 7-5, before Stockton potted the next four goals. Eric D'Arminio (Roxbury/Roxbury), Colin Shea (Rumson/Rumson-Fair Haven), Tiernan and Dante Poli (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks West) scored the markers for the Ospreys for the 11-4 lead.
 
The Ospreys poured it on in the final quarter, scoring the first five goals for a commanding 16-4 advantage. Two more goals by Poli and single tallies by Eric Ellis (Voorhees/Eastern), Swedlund and Anderson gave Stockton nine straight goals over a span of just under eight minutes in the third and fourth periods.
 
The Knights fought gamely though, scoring five times against two more by Stockton over the final 10 minutes of play to set the score at 18-10 in favor of the home team.
 
Poli and Swedlund scored three goals each in support of Anderson, while Tiernan, D'Arminio, Shea and Liguori hit the net twice each. Matt Thermann (Spring Lake Heights/Manasquan) had a phenomenal night, winning 14-16 faceoffs and grabbing a game-high 12 ground balls. Justin Ruiz made 14 saves for the second straight game in earning his third win in net.
 
The Knights were led by Zach Danneman with three goals and five ground balls, with Payton Kimber adding two goals and two assists. Goalkeeper Ian Arave made 18 saves in net.
 
Stockton will have a week off until next Saturday March 9, when they will travel to Washington College in Maryland. Game time is set for 1 pm.