Strong offensive performance carries CUA to third straight win

WASHINGTON – The Cardinals registered their third straight win on Tuesday evening with a 17-6 victory over visiting Shenandoah.  CUA scored the game’s first three goals and maintained a comfortable cushion throughout to improve to 10-3.  Brendan Englert led the Cardinals with four goals and an assist.

CUA dominated this one in every statistical category, outshooting the Hornets 63-17 on the night, including a 20-0 margin during the second quarter.  The Cardinals picked up 48 ground balls, led by Englert with nine, while Tom Scotto scooped up eight GBs and went 13 for 18 in the X.

Sean McKenna got the start in goal for the home team and sent back two shots in 45 minutes of action before Peter Falcone and Patrick Pfaff came in to finish things off, combining for two saves during their time.

Jimmy Sinnott got CUA going with his first goal of the night less than a minute-and-a-half into the game.  Englert followed with his first score and Camden Feldman then got into the act to make it 3-0.

PJ Cooper scored back-to-back goals for the Hornets to make it a 3-2 game, but Englert answered with his second score to put the Cardinals back in front by two.

Mac Hedrick cut CUA’s lead to one with 2:12 remaining in the first quarter, but goals by Englert and Feldman in the final 29 seconds sent the Cardinals into the second leading 6-3.

Over ten minutes passed in the second quarter before Englert netted his fourth goal of the night to put CUA in front by four, while Chris Fuccillo’s goal less than a minute later made the score 8-3 Cardinals.

Goals by Justin Schaufler and Fuccillo then closed out a strong first half by CUA and sent the teams into halftime with the Cardinals comfortably in front, 10-3.

With 2:27 gone in the third quarter Sinnott added to the Cardinals lead with his second goal of the night and Feldman soon followed to make it 12-3 with 11:16 on the clock.

Shenandoah scored the game’s next two goals, but CUA closed the quarter on a 4-0 run to take a 16-5 lead into the final 15 minutes.  Tyler Catalani, Sinnott, Fuccillo and Josh Kriz scored during the Cardinals run to put the margin at 11.

Catalani then scored CUA’s lone goal of the final quarter and the Cardinals cruised from there to win number-ten on the season.

On Saturday CUA hosts Goucher in a huge Landmark Conference showdown inside Cardinal Stadium.  Both teams come into the game with identical 2-0 records within the conference.  Start time is set for 2:30 p.m.