, Beacon correspondent

When the Emerson men’s lacrosse team took the field Saturday for its home game, they were greeted by a sideline filled with fans.

For the other guys.

The College of Mount Saint Vincent dominated the contest well before the opening face-off, as the field at Rotch Playground  was packed with fans in support of the Dolphins from Riverdale, N.Y.

“They traveled really well,” said Emerson’s coach Nathanial Mayo. “I was shocked to see how many people showed up for them.”

The majority of the more than 120 attendees seemed to be cheering on the Dolphins, and most of the crowd was wearing Mount Saint Vincent’s school colors of gold and royal blue.

“They had a lot of players, so it seemed like there was a lot of family support that came from New York,” said marketing communication major Molly Wolfberg, who said she came out to the game to support her friend, Emerson defenseman Billy Leopold. “But because it was on our campus, we should have had more Emerson support,” she said.

But Mount Saint Vincent didn’t just dominate the sidelines — they dominated the field as well.

“They had so many guys,” said freshman attacker Max Smith, a screenwriting major. “They had 45 [players], we dressed 14 [players].”

In the first two periods, numbers did not look to be a factor as both teams played at the same pace and Emerson took a slim, 5-4 lead into halftime. Then Mount Saint Vincent blew the game open in the second half.

“We played really well in the first half; the second half they got a few goals,” said Mayo. “We were shocked because they weren’t doing that in the first half.”

Mount Saint Vincent outscored Emerson 14-4 in the second frame. The tired Lions allowed goal after goal without responding. More often than not, Emerson had to watch the ball sail into the net from the turf after having been knocked there by a tough Dolphins team.

“They played so physical, if I were their coach I would have said the same thing — ‘wear them down,’” Smith explained.

Dan Gold, one of Emerson’s three captains, had two goals and two assists. When he wasn’t helping to run Emerson’s offense, he was on the ground — often getting bounced around between Dolphin defenders.

“I’m not the biggest dude,” said Gold, a film production major. “Just gotta get back up and play. They are chippy and dirty.”

Several players said they thought they were better lacrosse players and felt that Mount Saint Vincent was not a talented team, saying the Dolphins’ 18-9 victory came from their depth and not their skill.

“This is the worst team we’ve played this year,” Mayo said. “This team isn’t very good, and we really felt that we should have beaten up today — missed opportunity. I think this is the first game where I can really say the team was much bigger.”

Saturday’s 18-9 loss brings Emerson’s record to 0-6 overall, with their average margin of defeat dropping to 8.5 goals.

Emerson will play for its first win today at 6 p.m. versus Mitchell College.