Panthers Outlast Vikings 12-8

Recap courtesy of Salem State

SALEM, MASS. –  Griffin Jacobson (Windham, Maine), Ryan Croatti (Brunswick, Maine) and Connor Delea (Manchester, N.H.) combined for six goals and three assists as Plymouth State held off Salem State 12-8 in a Little East Conference matchup on Friday evening at Alumni Field. The Panthers improve to 4-4 on the season and 2-0 in the Little East. The Vikings dip to 3-7 and 0-2 in conference.

Casey Elkins (Stow, Mass.), Drew Lederer (Jefferson, Mass.), Chris Waterbury (Clinton, Conn.), Thomas Kelly (Chantilly, Va.), Trevor Gagnon (Pelham, N.H.) and Trevor Barrett (Amherst, N.H.) all scored goal for Plymouth State.

Charlie Bourgeois (Billerica, Mass.) – 2 goals, Zach Persson (Danvers, Mass.) – 2 goals, Jay Colletti (Billerica, Mass.), Tyler Billouin (Bedfrod, Mass.), Craig Denehy (Salem, Mass.) and Jack Feeney (Abington, Mass.) notched scores for Salem State.

The Panthers held a 3-2 lead after one period of play. It was Salem State's Colletti, who struck first, notching his third goal of the season in the opening minute. Croatti, netted back-to-back scores for the Panthers, midway through the period before Billouin tied the game again at 2-2. However, Elkins snuck in a goal right before the buzzer, giving the visitors a one-score advantage.

Bourgeois answered for Salem State quickly to open the second. Though once again the Panthers aided by goals from Jacobson and Delea took a two-score lead, 5-3 with 11:46 remaining. Lederer then extended the lead to 6-3 with his fifth of the year for Plymouth State.  Following a timeout, Persson and Denehy netted goals less than two minutes apart to pull the Vikings to within a goal at 6-5. Bourgeois continued Salem State's run with his second of the game, tying the score with 4:16 left before halftime.

Waterbury broke the tie just seven seconds into the third period for the Panthers. Salem State's Persson followed with a wrap-around goal, tying the game once again at 7-7. Consecutive scores from Kelly and Gagnon gave the Panthers a two-goal lead before Feeney pulled the Vikings to within 9-8 with 4:09 left in the quarter. 

Jacobson made the score 10-8 with a man-up goal less than thirty seconds into the fourth.  Barrett added another score for Plymouth State with 7:45 left on the clock, giving the Panthers some breathing room as Plymouth State built an 11-8 lead. Delea capped the scoring with his second of the night as the Panthers took a 12-8 decision.

Kyle Stockman (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) won 17-22 faceoffs and while grabbing a game-high 10 groundballs.

Zel Kerkel (Loudon, N.H.) made two saves in the win. Chris Schaub (Brewster, N.Y.) stopped 16 shots as the Panthers outshot Salem State 44-25.

Babson Uses Fourth-Quarter Push to Rally Past Springfield College Men's Lacrosse, 11-8

Recap, photo courtesy of Springfield College

Babson Park, Mass. - April 7, 2018 - The Springfield College men's lacrosse team fell to Babson, 11-8, on Saturday afternoon at MacDowell Field, as the Pride surrendeder six unanswered goals in the final quarter to suffer its first New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) loss of the season. Springfield College is now 6-4 overall with a 1-1 mark in league play, while Babson improves to 5-5 on the year with a 2-0 record against league opponents.

Babson scored six unanswered goals in the fourth quarter to overcome a three-goal deficit and escape with the 11-8 victory. Babson outshot the Pride, 46-35 over 60 minutes of play and picked up 42 ground balls compared to Springfield's 34. In net, senior goalkeeper Jake Reynolds (Scituate, Mass.) made 10 saves, while his counterparts, Christopher Aranalde (Rockville Center, N.Y.) and Mac Mowat (Bellevue, Wash.) combined for 10 saves in the win.

Leading the Pride offensively was Matt Allen (Chevy Chase, Md.), who had three goals, while

Western New England Takes Top Spot in CCC Standings with 7-5 Triumph at Endicott

Senior Steve Kerr's 12-save effort helped Western New England secure a 7-5 victory at Endicott on Saturday. (Photo by Rachael Margossian)

Kerr finishes with 12 saves, Beauchamp leads offense with three goals

BEVERLY, Mass. (April 7, 2018) – The Western New England University men's lacrosse team claimed sole possession of first place in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) standings with a 7-5 victory over Endicott College on Saturday afternoon at Hempstead Stadium. 

Top Performers
• Senior midfielder Nicholas Beauchamp (Wilbraham, Mass.) led the way for the Golden Bears, scoring three goals to go with an assist.
• Junior attackman Jared Ward (Littleton, Mass.) contributed two goals, while senior Mikey Wood (Southborough, Mass.) and sophomore Nick Gamba (East Islip, N.Y.) chipped in with one each.
• Senior goalie Steven Kerr (Hopkinton, Mass.) was strong in the cage, finishing with 12 saves on 17 shots.

• Endicott freshman Jack Sutherland (Sudbury, Mass.) factored into three of the Gulls' five goals, as he scored two and assisted on another.
• Junior goalie Patrick Dean (Westhampton, N.Y.) was able to turn away 21 of the 28 shots that he faced.

Game Review
After nearly 15 minutes of scoreless action, Western New England capitalized on an Endicott penalty to claim a 1-0 lead as Beauchamp buried a man-up goal at the first quarter buzzer.

The two teams went back and forth in the second quarter, as sophomore Will Clark (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) equalized for the Gulls at the 13:06 mark before Wood put the Golden Bears back in front on a feed from junior Tim Breau (Lima, N.Y.) with just under ten minutes remaining in the half.

Endicott tied the contest for the second time on an unassisted strike from Sutherland 1:21 later, but Beauchamp set up Ward with 6:16 on the clock to give Western New England a 3-2 edge.

The Golden Bears led by the same margin at the break, before establishing their first two-score lead (4-2) 2:23 into the third quarter when Gamba tallied his 18^th goal of the season on an assist from freshman Matthew Greer (South Windsor, Conn.).

Endicott was able to cut its deficit to one on two occasions later in the period, but Beauchamp restored Western New England's two-goal advantage (6-4) with 38 seconds remaining in the third.

Beauchamp then completed his hat trick with just under four minutes left in regulation to give the Golden Bears a three-score cushion. The Western New England defense finished the job, limiting the Gulls to one final goal from Sutherland at the 2:26 mark to seal the key victory.

Notes
• Western New England held advantages in both shots (40-33) and ground balls (28-19).
• Junior Hunter Cocks (Walden, N.Y.) won 8-of-14 faceoffs and scooped up four ground balls.
• Kerr has recorded 10+ saves eight times this season. His 141 total stops this spring lead the CCC.

Up Next
Both teams will be back in action on Tuesday at 7 p.m., as Western New England (7-5, 4-0 CCC) returns home to host Nichols and Endicott (3-7, 3-1 CCC) welcomes Tufts to Beverly for a non-conference contest.

UMass Men’s Lacrosse Battles Back For 9-8 Win At Delaware

Recap, photo courtesy of UMass

Minutemen trailed by four in third quarter, scored seven of game’s final nine goals for comeback win

NEWARK, Del. – Massachusetts men's lacrosse won for the sixth consecutive time with a fourth quarter comeback effort led by senior faceoff specialist Noah Rak (Norwich, Conn.) and sophomore midfielder Jeff Trainor (Billerica, Mass.) as the Minutemen downed Delaware, 9-8, on the road at Delaware Stadium on Friday evening. Rak went 14-of-18 on faceoffs with 11 groundballs and two goals on as many shots. Trainor scored his second collegiate hat trick with three goals, including two scored in the second half.
 
Buddy Carr (Exeter, N.H.) added three points on a goal and two assists while Chris Connolly (Glastonbury, Conn.) scored once and dished an assist. Shane Rinkus (Pembroke, Mass.) and Devin Spencer (Danville, Calif.) added a goal apiece while Isaac Paparo (Westport, Conn.) helped out on a tally.
 
Jackson Suboch (Toronto, Ontario) forced two Delaware turnovers and scooped up a pair of groundballs while Paparo had a caused turnover and three groundballs. Reserve goalkeeper Sean Sconone (East Islip, N.Y.), who rotated into the lineup in the 22nd minute of the game, closed out the game with 12 saves against only four goals allowed.
 
Massachusetts trailed by four after Will Hirschmann scored on a feed from Charlie Kitchen with seven minutes, 10 seconds to go in the third quarter.
 
However, Carr ignited the offense with his 25th goal of the year, before Trainor potted his second of the game as Massachusetts cut the deficit to a pair with 3:37 to go.
 
Both teams managed to score in the final 10 seconds of the franticly-paced frame as Delaware held a 7-5 advantage headed to the final 15 minutes of action.
 
Paparo forced Delaware into a turnover, scooped up the loose ball, raced up-field and fed the play to Spencer at the crease for Spencer's 13th tally of the year with seven seconds to go in the frame. The Blue Hens responded after the officials whistled UMass for a faceoff violation following the goal and Mark Bieda connected with less than one second to go.
 
Massachusetts pulled momentum back into its favor during the fourth quarter as the defense held Delaware scoreless into the final minute, the offense found rhythm and Rak continuously set the Minutemen up with possessions as he went 6-of-6 at the faceoff dot. Those combined efforts led the Minutemen to a four-goal run during the fourth, with one tally each by Connolly, Rak, Rinkus and Trainor.
 
Rak immediately cut the deficit to 7-6 when he won the first faceoff of the fourth to himself, scooped the groundball and fired in his second goal of the game only six seconds in. Rinkus followed Rak's lead 13 seconds later as Massachusetts pulled even with all but 19 seconds still to play in the fourth.
 
Connolly put Massachusetts in front for the first time all evening with his lone strike of the game, facilitated by Carr, at the 12:17 mark. Following Connolly's conversion, play settled into a scoreless, back-and-forth struggle into the final 90 seconds.
 
Trainor padded the lead to a pair with his hat trick-securing third tally of the night. On an official's restart following a timeout, Trainor split a Delaware double-team and raced unchecked to the cage where he caught Blue Hens goalie Matt DeLuca out of position.
 
Massachusetts (7-4 overall, 2-0 CAA) returns home to Garber Field for its next game, a Sat., April 14 contest with Towson (4-6, 1-1) at 1 p.m.

No. 7 Men's Lacrosse Edged by No. 4 Wesleyan, 12-11 in Little III Battle

Recap, photo courtesy of Amherst College

NEW LONDON, Conn. – In a back-and-forth battle, a five goal fourth quarter by the Cardinals proved too much to overcome as the No. 7 Amherst College men's lacrosse team was edged by Little III rival and fourth-ranked Wesleyan, 12-11 Wednesday evening at Citrin Field.

With the setback, Amherst falls to 8-2 on the season and to 4-1 in league play, while Wesleyan improves to 8-1 overall (5-0 NESCAC). Amherst returns to the field on Saturday, April 7 when they host archrival Williams beginning at 1 p.m.

In a three goal first quarter, the Cardinals were first on the board as Ronan Jacoby netted an unassisted tally 1:25 into the matchup.

Responding two-fold, Zach Schwartz '18 capitalized on a Wesleyan penalty at the 8:48 mark, potting a dish from Dylan Peabody '21 before Peabody assisted on a score by Evan Wolf '19 at the 7:09 mark to give the Mammoths an early 2-1 lead.

Matt Solberg '20 extended Amherst's lead to 3-1 on an assist from Jimmy McAfee '20 with 13:31 on the clock in the second period, however the Cardinals went on to score three straight goals behind markers from Christian Barker and Jacoby (2) to take a one-goal edge.

The sides closed out the first half with a score each in the final minute before the horn, as Jack Norton '19 drove Colin Minicus's '20 pass into the nylon at the 37 second mark and Ryan Lynch posted an unassisted score six seconds later to give the home team a 5-4 lead at intermission. 

Taking an 8-7 lead with 15 minutes remaining in regulation, the Mammoths doubled up Wesleyan, 4-2 in the third stanza to own a one-goal edge.

Logging four unanswered markers to open the third period, Wolf and Trenton Shore '19 scored back-to-back player up goals, before Wolf recorded his third score for the game with 7:51 on the clock to give Amherst a 7-5 cushion.

Peabody made it 8-5 with an assist from Minicus at the 6:51 mark, but the Cardinals finished the third with unassisted goals by Cole Turpin and Zander Kotsen in the final 3:46 to cut the Mammoths' advantage to one entering the final quarter. 

In a thrilling fourth, Christian Barker deadlocked the bout at 8-8 at the 10:13 mark to set up an exciting final stretch for the two top-10 teams.

The Mammoths rebuilt a two-goal lead with unassisted scores by Norton and McAfee in a 15 second span, however the Cardinals answered the two quick markers with three consecutive goals to take their first lead since the opening stanza.

Harry Stanton beat the Amherst netminder on a dish from Scott Irwin at the 8:45 mark, while Collin Hitterand and Carter Hawthorne soon followed with goals of their own to give the Cardinals an 11-10 lead with 5:25 to play.

Battling back, Minicus found Norton for the marker with three minutes remaining in regulation, however a Wesleyan goal by Hawthorne at the 2:24 mark stood as the difference maker as the home team held on for the 12-11 victory. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• In between the pipes, Chad Simons '21 (2-1) made 12 saves in the losing effort for Amherst, while Otto Bohan (6-0) registered 19 stops in the win for Wesleyan.
• Dylan Finazzo '20 went 19-for-26 on face offs to lead the Mammoths and posted a game-high 14 ground balls, while Reid Shilling led Amherst with two forced turnovers.
• Amherst owned a 31-24 edge in shots on target and a 44-35 advantage in ground balls.
• The Mammoths went a perfect 13-for-13 on clears and 3-for-6 up a player, while the Cardinals finished 20-for-22 on clear attempts and 1-for-5 on player-up opportunities.

Western New England Remains Unbeaten in CCC Play with 11-9 Win over Wentworth

Sophomore Nick Gamba's goal late in the fourth quarter was the difference in Western New England's 11-9 victory over Wentworth on Wednesday night. (Photo by Rachael Margossian)

Gamba & Ward lead Golden Bears with four points each

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 4, 2018) – Sophomore midfielder Nick Gamba (East Islip, N.Y.) scored the go-ahead goal with 3:38 remaining in regulation as the Western New England University men's lacrosse team secured an 11-9 victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology on Wednesday evening at Golden Bear Stadium. 

Top Performers
• Gamba and junior attackman Jared Ward (Littleton, Mass.) fueled the Western New England offense with three goals and one assist each.
• Junior Hunter Cocks (Walden, N.Y.) was dominant at the faceoff X, going 19-for-23 and collecting a game-high 16 ground balls.
• Senior goalie Steven Kerr (Hopkinton, Mass.) made nine saves, including three in the fourth quarter to help preserve the win.

• Wentworth senior midfielder Kevin Butler (Jefferson, Mass.) powered the Leopards with a game-high four goals, while sophomore Kyle Doner (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) chipped in with two.  
• Senior goalie Scott Boucher (Salisbury, N.H.) finished with 11 saves on 22 shots.

Game Review
Western New England had no trouble scoring early, as the Golden Bears opened up a 3-0 lead three minutes into the contest with goals from Gamba and seniors Nicholas Beauchamp (Wilbraham, Mass.) and Mikey Wood (Southborough, Mass.).

Butler got the Leopards on the board at the 5:13 mark and Doner made it a one-goal game (3-2) with an unassisted strike with 57 seconds left in the opening quarter, but Ward found the back of the cage with five seconds on the clock to give the Golden Bears a 4-2 lead heading into the second period.

Butler's second goal of the game early in the second quarter cut Wentworth's deficit to one, before junior Zach Tomaszek (Milford, Conn.) equalized for the Leopards at the 6:45 mark.

Beauchamp put the Golden Bears back ahead (5-4) with 3:24 remaining, but Butler tallied his third goal of the night just under two minutes later to knot the score heading into the break.

Western New England outscored Wentworth 4-2 in the third quarter as Gamba's unassisted tally at the 1:31 mark gave the Golden Bears a 9-7 advantage.

The Leopards battled back, however, pulling to within one on a goal by junior Jacob Eldred (Goffstown, N.H.) early in the final period before tying the contest for the fourth and final time when freshman Jack O'Neill (Groton, Mass.) beat Kerr with 4:52 to play.

Freshman Conner Cronin (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) set up Gamba for the go-ahead goal at the 3:38 mark, and Ward buried an insurance tally with 34 seconds on the clock to seal the triumph.

Notes
• The Golden Bears outshot the Leopards 36-28 and held a 38-20 ground ball advantage.
• Western New England was a perfect 14-for-14 in clear attempts.
• Gamba has recorded multiple points in eight straight contests. His 32 points this season rank third on the team and 15^th in the CCC.

Up Next
Western New England (6-5, 3-0 CCC) travels to Endicott on Saturday for a CCC showdown with the Gulls, while Wentworth (6-4, 1-3 CCC) returns home to host Salve Regina next Tuesday.

Late Run Helps Coast Guard Pull Away for 7-2 Win over MIT

Courtesy of DSPics.com

THE BASICS:

- Score: U.S. Coast Guard Academy 7, MIT 3

- Records: MIT (5-4 ,1-1 NEWMAC); Coast Guard (7-2, 2-0 NEWMAC)

- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Roberts Field at Steinbrenner Stadium)

- The Lead: Three goals in a span of 2:28 during the fourth quarter helped the U.S. Coast Guard Academy secure a 7-2 win over MIT in a NEWMAC men's lacrosse game on Wednesday night. Riley McNulty powered the Bears, who received votes in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association coaches poll, with three goals and one assist.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

- Coast Guard built a 2-0 lead after five minutes of action courtesy of strikes by McNulty and Will Iorio. The score remained unchanged until MIT senior Graham Davis (Crofton, Md.) found the back of the net with 13 seconds on the clock.

- The Bears increased their cushion to 3-1 on a man-up goal from Jack Pope that was set up by McNulty at the 10:57 mark of the second stanza. The game became a defensive battle as the slim margin carried over into halftime and through the third quarter.

- McNulty ended the stalemate when he connected on a pass from Benner Geurtsen at the 13:38 mark of the fourth quarter. MIT freshman Nicolas Gianni (Henderson, Nev.) buried a transition goal, narrowing the gap to 4-2 with 9:59 left to play. Almost three minutes later, Anthony Wyler fueled Coast Guard's game-ending run as he earned an assist on McNulty's third goal and then scored back-to-back goals to clinch the win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

- Senior David Klee (East Greenbush, N.Y.) tallied four caused turnovers while Davis and sophomore Adam Gumbardo (Babylon, N.Y.) both collected four groundballs. Senior Jack Kelly (Milford, Del.) chipped in three groundballs as junior Alexander Lynch (Roswell, Ga.) recorded 12 saves and four groundballs for the Engineers.

- Connor Ellis led all players with six groundballs followed by three from Justin Edwards. Colin Cashin won seven of 11 faceoffs while goalie Trey Johnson racked up 14 saves for the Bears.

- Coast Guard finished with advantages in shots (36-29), shots on goal (18-16), and faceoff wins (7-4). The visitors were 26-of-32 in clearing attempts and 1-of-4 in extra-man opportunities.

- MIT posted a slight edge in groundballs (30-29) and were 18-of-24 on the clear and 0-of-2 in extra-man opportunities.

- In a series that began in 2015, this was the Bears' first victory over the Engineers.

UP NEXT:

- Both teams continue NEWMAC play with home games on Saturday, April 7. MIT will host Massachusetts Maritime Academy at 1:15 p.m. while Coast Guard will square off with Wheaton College at 3:00 p.m.