Explosive First Quarter Drives Men’s Lacrosse Past NEC in Maryland

Recap, photo courtesy of Curry College

SPARKS, Md. – The Curry College men's lacrosse team scored seven goals in the first frame and outscored the New England College (NEC) Pilgrims in every quarter to cruise to a 20-9 victory at the US Lacrosse Headquarters in Sparks, Md. With the win, the Colonels start the year with a record of 2-3 while the Pilgrims fall to 1-4 with their third straight defeat.

When a team scores on nearly 53% of their shots on goal, there tends to be reason for optimism. That was not the case for NEC, however, who managed to put just 17 shots on net in the full 60 minutes, while the Colonels scored on 20 of their 37 SOG. The scoring onslaught started early, as Kyle Ton (Norwich, Conn.) scored an unassisted tally just 56 seconds into the action. Over the next three and a half minutes, Curry would put in a trio of goals to break open a 4-0 lead with 9:46 to play in the opening period. Connor Smith (Oakland, Maine) put up the first goal of the day for New England, but two more Colonel goals would send the game into the first break with the score sitting at 7-1. The lead was thanks largely in part to three points by Jake Stebbins (Colchester, Vt.) (3 assists), while senior Devin Newell (Medford, Mass.) collected a first quarter hat trick.

Curry got right back on attack as play resumed, once again scoring four goals before six minutes could run off the clock, as an unassisted marker from Harrison Fallon (Wrentham, Mass.) made the lead 11-1 and gave him a hat trick of his own. Despite being down by a double digit deficit, the Pilgrims refused to back down, holding the Colonels scoreless over the next 13 minutes while scoring five goals of their own, cutting Curry's edge in half at 11-6.

Trying to regain their footing, the Colonels scored the next three goals and five of the next six. Their first three scores of the second half converted man-up advantages while Ton found the net three times in ten minutes to bring his total to five on the day and send the Colonels to the fourth quarter with a 16-7 lead. In the final stanza, Curry would score four more times, including the fifth marks of the day for Fallon and Newell, while Ton secured the first double hat trick of Curry's season. NEC grabbed the final pair of goals for the day, but the Colonels' lead was far too large to overcome as Curry heads back home with a 20-9 victory.

Four different Colonels hit five points in this one. Ton and Fallon grabbed all their points on goals, with six and five respectively. Newell scored five times and added an assist while Stebbins dished out three assists to go with a pair of scores. Josh Teller (Milford, Conn.) grabbed six saves in net before Mike Collins (Franklin, Mass.) grabbed two, closing out the final five minutes of the win minding the net. Curry stayed notably disciplined in the contest, serving just two penalty minutes on four flags.

Smith was the only Pilgrim to score more than once, finding the net five times on just eight shots. Austin Frankel (Peabody, Mass.) had a day at the midfield x, going 14-20 on face-offs and collecting seven ground balls. William Platt (San Francisco, Calif.) collected 15 saves in the loss.

Curry returns to action on Sunday, March 17 as they return home for a 2:00 p.m. match up with Plymouth State. NEC gets back on the field next Wednesday, March 20, to face off against St. Joseph's College (Maine) at home at 7:00 p.m.