St. Mary's City, Md. – Thirteen players scored for the St. Mary's College of Maryland men's lacrosse team Saturday afternoon as the Seahawks posted a 26-8 Capital Athletic Conference win over Southern Virginia University for their first victory of the season, snapping a four-game skid.

Senior midfielder Timothy Perugini (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) exploded for career-bests of five goals and six points in leading St. Mary's to its first win in conference action. Midfielders Stewart Utter (Deephaven, Minn./Minnetonka) and Will Lerch (Lothian, Md./Calverton) each contributed four points as Utter recorded his first hat trick and added an assist and Lerch had two and two.

The Seahawks (1-4, 1-1 CAC) opened up with seven goals in the first period and took a 7-3 lead into the second quarter. Seniors Eric Simon (North Potomac, Md./Quince Orchard) and Matt Tarrant (Mount Airy, Md./Urbana) each had two goals in the first 15 minutes of play.

Southern Virginia (1-8, 0-2 CAC) outscored St. Mary's, 4-3, in the second stanza as the Knights netted the final three goals of the half and first-year midfielder Ryan Larsen (Mesa, Ariz./Mountain View) had a pair.

The Seahawks carried a three-goal lead into halftime as Simon, Tarrant, and first-year attackman Colin Dempsey (Baltimore, Md./Boys' Latin) each had two goals in the first half. Larsen and first-year attackman Anthony Good (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) led Southern Virginia with two goals each.

St. Mary's went on to outscore the Knights, 16-1, in the second half with a 7-1 margin in the third period before shutting out Southern Virginia, 9-0, in the final quarter. Perugini carried the Seahawks in the third with four goals while Utter led the way in the fourth with his first career hat trick.

The Seahawks outshot Southern Virginia, 51-28, and outhustled the Knights, 37-23, in ground balls as senior midfielder Reese Cassard (Chevy Chase, Md./Gonzaga) scooped up a game-best six loose balls. St. Mary's won the battle at the X, winning 22-of-37 face-offs. Cassard led the way with a career-best 12-of-15 effort.

Junior Joe Casey (Annapolis, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) needed just five saves for the win, including one in the fourth to keep the Knights off the scoreboard. Sophomore Derek Lamb (Buena Vista, Va./Adams State) notched 16 stops in the team's eighth loss of the season.

The Seahawks take a step back from conference action on Tuesday, March 24th as St. Mary's welcomes Oberlin College to Seahawk Stadium for a non-conference matchup at 4:00 p.m.

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