ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Roberts Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team had two points of emphasis during its preparation for Saturday afternoon's East Coast Conference showdown with Frostburg State.

The Redhawks focused heavily on their clearing game and playing with the lead as they looked to snap a five-game losing streak against the Bobcats.

The work paid off as the Redhawks succeeded on 21 of 26 clear attempts and led the final 33:30 to secure a 9-8 victory for their first win over the Bobcats since March 26, 2022.

"It's pretty big," said Roberts first-year coach Rocky Delfino Jr.

Sophomore Chase Wilson scored three goals and Ryan Brown and Colin Duncan each added two for the Redhawks (4-6, 2-2 ECC).

Brown scored a man-up goal to give Roberts a 5-4 lead with 3:30 to play in the first half and the Redhawks led the rest of the way.

Duncan converted a feed from Sam Keens to put Roberts in front 6-4 at the half and Jett Richardson and Wilson found the net in the third quarter to give Roberts an 8-4 lead entering the fourth period.

Roberts, which did not trail by more than a goal throughout the contest, outscored Frostburg 6-1 in the second and third quarters and held the Bobcats scoreless for nearly 22 minutes.

Brown scored another man-up goal with 10:54 left as Roberts went in front 9-5, but the Redhawks needed to withstand a strong final push by Frostburg to secure the victory.

Roberts dominated possession, going 19-for-21 on face-offs. Senior Isaac Marrero won 16 of 18 and sophomore Anthony Vitale went 3-for-3 one week after Roberts went 8-for-19 in a loss to Mercy.

"Those guys really stepped up today," Delfino said of Marrero and Vitale.

Marrero led the Redhawks with 11 ground balls while senior Brady Kustra added six ground balls and caused two turnovers.

Sophomore Landon Brimmer made seven saves and secured six ground balls.

After Frostburg cut the Roberts lead to 9-8, freshman Nixon Karcz intercepted a pass near midfield with 59 seconds left and the Redhawks, who started the season 1-5, were able to run out the clock for their third victory in four games.

"The skill was always there, but we needed to change our mentality," Delfino said. "We are 100 times better now than we were earlier in the season because we are playing full games and we trust in each other. There is no letting up now, we are going to keep going."

The Redhawks will travel to D'Youville for an ECC game at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 18.