Arlington, Va. – A career-high seven goals from Nico Burns propelled the Marymount men's lacrosse team onward and upward on Wednesday night, as the Saints completely overpowered visiting Southern Virginia, 22-10.  Marymount improves to 4-7 on the season and 1-3 in league play with the decisive win.

The Saints dominated on faceoffs throughout the contest, winning 30-of-35 trips to the center X.  Both Andrew Fournier and Nate Valenti posted 13-for-15 outings, while Max Johnson was a perfect 4-for-4.

The teams traded goals in the opening five minutes to reveal the 1-1 tie, but Matt Justice responded at the 10:10 mark with his first of the night to give the Saints some momentum.  Johnson followed suit moments later, pumping a bullet from about eight yards out to up the advantage to 3-1 with 9:04 on the clock.

Marymount swiped the ensuing faceoff and marched right back into Knights territory, where Nate Beard hit Justice perfectly in-stride.  The junior netted his second and the margin increased to three, 4-1.

SVU struck next at the 4:49 mark, but the Saints would have the final say in the first as Shoshone Smith punched in a strike with 3:43 remaining.

The second quarter saw the Nico Burns show begin to unfold.  The senior from Arlington, Va., unleashed back-to-back blasts at 13:36 and 7:22 – effectively extending the Saints lead to 7-2.  McCarthy added his second tally with 6:27 showing – using a sharp pass from Johnson to set up a beautiful bounce shot for the 8-2 advantage.

Burns secured his hat trick by the 3:21 mark, but SVU netted its third to cap the first half scoring at 9-3.

The third stanza saw the Saints off to an auspicious start, with Garret Nealon slamming home a missile from the top of the arc.  The squads once again traded goals from there, bolstering the hearty offensive outing and bringing the score to 11-5 with 9:04 to play.

Burns struck again with 8:22 on the clock, using a well-threaded pass from Nealon to collect his fourth.  SVU cut the deficit to six, 12-6, moments later, but Marymount proved almost completely unfazed.  Dakota Landis used a quick pass from Mike Bitonti to increase the margin to 13-6 at the 4:55 mark.  SVU would net a pair to close out the third.

Justice kicked off the final frame with a short-range strike, though SVU responded in kind within two minutes to negate the tally.  The Nealon-to-Burns combination resurfaced at the 10:20 mark, when the seniors linked up for another Marymount blast.  Johnson would go on to swipe the following faceoff and do the rest himself – dumping in a crisp shot off the breakaway for the 18-9 lead.

Burns and Nealon swapped roles for the next Marymount tally with 8:03 on the clock.  The hot-handed Burns slipped a quick dart to Nealon, who tucked away some high heat just under the crossbar – upping the ante to 19-9.

Justice, Burns, and Landis registered the final three goals for Marymount.  SVU pocketed a strike with just 31 seconds showing, but the game was as good as done.

Burns paced the Saints with eight points on the night, while Beard, Nealon, and Justice each collected four.  Brent Sulhoff proved a force on the wing, scooping up a game-high eight groundballs for Marymount.

Kevin Genna, Mike Kempel, and Colin Durnin all saw time in the cage, with Genna hauling in five saves to earn his first win of the season.

Marymount returns to action on Saturday when it travels to No. 13 Salisbury.  Start time is slated for 1:00 p.m.