GAMBIER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College men's lacrosse team opened their second game with two quick scores, setting the tone for a 16-8 win over the visiting Capital University Comets (0-1).
Kenyon's key to victory was controlling possession, which the Owls did by winning 23 of the 28 face-off battles. Thomas Nelson won the game's first 13 face-offs before finishing with a 19-20 mark after a 24-24 performance in the season opener. Having the ball early and often allowed Kenyon to outshoot Capital 51-33, including a 31-22 edge in shots on goal.
David Chintala, who scored a team-high five goals in the Owls' season-opening win over Baldwin Wallace University, needed just over two minutes to put Kenyon on the board, scoring off of an assist from Jack Giuffre.
The Owls doubled their lead at the 9:08 mark when Colin McCarthy got on the board after slicing through the defense and scoring a solo goal.
A 30-second holding penalty on Evan Bongers opened the door for the Comets. Capital took advantage of the infraction by converting an extra-man opportunity with two minutes left in the first quarter. However, Giuffre restored Kenyon's two-goal margin 44 seconds later with a solo score.
Kenyon poured it on from the start of the second quarter when Thomas Nelson won the opening face-off, streaked up the field, and scored a goal in six seconds. Another face-off win led to a Chintala connection, putting the home team up 5-1 less than a minute into the second frame.
Bongers helped Kenyon stay perfect, scoring the team's third goal on their third shot of the quarter at the 11:36 mark to force a Capital timeout. The stoppage helped the Comets get back on track, and Sam MacInturf saved the subsequent three Owls attempts. The visitors cut the deficit to 6-2, but Chase MacCartee quickly answered thanks to a Giuffre assist.
The teams traded goals to end the half, but Kenyon got the last laugh thanks to a Joe Boesel goal off a Chintala assist.
The Comets won the opening face-off of the second half and, after a few defensive stops, scored off a Kenyon turnover to pull within four, 8-4, on a flag-down sequence.
Giuffre kept his finger on the pulse of Kenyon's scoring, flipping a diving assist to McCarthy before scoring on an assist from Rollins Heath to put Kenyon up 10-4. Chintala scored 32 seconds later off a Capital turnover, pushing the advantage to 11-4 with 9:19 left in the period.
The Comets came within six on two occasions in the late third and early fourth quarters, but Kenyon all but clinched the contest with three straight fourth-quarter scores from Chintala, MacCartee, and Heath.
After two late Capital scores, Kenyon added a 16-8 decision to the books to improve to 2-0 on the young season. Chintala scored a game-high four goals with an assist, while MacCartee managed three. McCarthy and Giuffre scored two goals apiece, and Giuffre dished out a game-best three assists. In goal, Adam Hall snared 14 saves for a .636 save percentage.
The Owls will have to wait a month for their next home game after two straight wins on The Field at Benson Bowl. Kenyon starts a five-game stretch on the road with a matchup against Otterbein University (0-2) on Wednesday, Mar. 1, at 7 p.m. in Westerville, Ohio.
