The Muhlenberg men's lacrosse team is becoming a royal pain for the Scranton Royals.
 
For the second straight year, the Mules came from behind to defeat Scranton by one goal, scoring the winner in the final two minutes.
 
Last year, Muhlenberg trailed 8-6 before netting three goals in the final 4:17, taking home a 9-8 win on a goal with 1:32 remaining.
 
This time, the score was higher and the comeback bigger. The Mules (2-0) overcame a 9-5 halftime deficit with eight straight third-quarter goals, only to have the Royals (1-2) tie the score at 15-all with 1:53 on the clock.
 
Just 17 seconds later, freshman Matt Marrella took a pass from classmate Cooper Richards and netted his third goal of the game, giving Muhlenberg a 16-15 win.
 
In addition to Marrella, sophomore Brandon Moyer (pictured above) recorded a hat trick, the first of his career. Sophomore Ethan Grossman scored four points on a goal and three assists, while junior Jake Whittingslow added his first points as a Mule with two goals and an assist.
 
The Royals used a 5-0 run in the second quarter to build their lead, but Muhlenberg dominated the third quarter, scoring on eight of its 13 shots. The eight goals were one short of the school record for a quarter.
 
The score was tied 9-9 before junior Frankie Feaster scored back-to-back goals to put the Mules up by two. Freshman Kyle Lando picked up a loose ball off the ensuing faceoff and had a special moment for a defenseman, clearing the ball and bouncing in a long shot for his first career goal.
 
Grossman caught the goalie out of position following a save and capped the third-quarter onslaught with his lone goal of the game. The goals by Feaster, Lando and Grossman came in a span of 49 seconds and gave Muhlenberg a 13-9 lead.
 
It was 15-11 with 5:21 to go following a goal by sophomore Colin Adams, but the Royals roared back to score the next four goals.
 
Sophomore Alexander Giaquinto picked up the ground ball on the next faceoff and passed back to Lando, who hit Richards just shy of midfield. After a Scranton player lost his stick trying to check him, Richards advanced the ball before finding Marrella alone in front of the cage. Marrella faked once before finishing to put the Mules ahead again.
 
Scranton won the ensuing faceoff and set up its offense following an exchange of turnovers, but freshman Maxwell Seeber batted down a pass to the middle from behind the goal, and freshman James Dalimonte scooped up the ground ball with about a minute left. Muhlenberg ran out the remaining time to secure the wild win.

The game was the first in the 33-year history of men's lacrosse at Muhlenberg in which both teams scored at least 15 goals. The 31 combined goals were the most in a game since an 18-14 loss to Stevens in 2012.
 
Giaquinto and Seeber each picked up six ground balls for the Mules, with Seeber also causing three turnovers. Lando caused three turnovers to go along with his goal, and sophomore Matt Hager recorded four ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.