Men’s Lacrosse Pulls off Crucial Conference Comeback

Men’s Lacrosse Pulls off Crucial Conference Comeback

DUDLEY, Mass. – The Curry College men's lacrosse team trailed 7-2 following the first quarter, but clawed all the way back to capture a significant victory over Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) opponent Nichols College. With the win, the Colonels even up at 7-7 overall with a 4-3 conference record, building a game and a half lead over the Bison in the CCC. Nichols' tally goes to 6-6 on the year with a 2-4 mark in league play.

The Bison got the scoring started with a pair of goals, both assisted by Cole Fontana (Grafton, Mass.). Jake Stebbins (Colchester, Vt.) netted his first score of the day as the midway mark of the first quarter approached, but Jack Campanale (Shrewsbury, Mass.) found his way to the net and reinstated the two-goal lead with an unassisted marker. The remainder of the opening frame gave Nichols reason for optimism as they followed the senior's goal with three more unanswered tallies to go up 6-1, capped by a score from Casey Campanale (Shrewsbury, Mass.) to convert a man-up opportunity. Kyle Ton (Norwich, Conn.) ended the 4-0 run with the second Curry goal of the day, but Cian Keohane (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) found Brendan Coates (Grafton, Mass.) who beat the goalie with 1:50 left to play, which sent the Bison to the first break with a 7-2 edge. Jack Campanale was at it again as the teams returned to the field, putting in his second off a helper from Brett Shiffer (Milford, N.H.). Curry began chipping away at the 8-2 deficit with three unanswered goals from Devin Newell (Medford, Mass.), but the teams headed to halftime with the score sitting at 8-5 after a low-scoring second frame.

Looking to carry over the momentum gained at the end of the first half, the Colonels cut into the Bison lead once more with a Ton marker from Andrew DeLeary (Wakefield, Mass.). Just two and a half minutes later, goals by Stebbins and Kyle Lussier (Topsham, Mass.) knotted the score at eight. After being held scoreless over the previous 20 minutes of play, Coates broke through and gave the lead back to the hosts at 9-8. Nichols got an opportunity to rebuild their lead as Curry was assessed a two-minute major penalty, but DeLeary had other plans as he put one into the net to tie it at nine despite being a man-down. The tie would hold into the fourth quarter, but just 47 seconds into the final frame, DeLeary beat Bison goalie Brian McKinley (Nashua, N.H.) once again to give the Colonels their first lead of the day. Thomas Astle (Pittsfield, Mass.) notched his second goal of the contest to knot it back up, but it would be all Curry from there. Over the final ten minutes, Bobby Cannan (Bernardsville, N.J.) stayed stout in net for the Colonels, saving all three shots which came his way. On the other end of the field, Lussier's second goal of the day was sandwiched by the third and fourth scores from the whip of Ton, which closed out the Colonel victory by a score of 13-10.

Ton topped the score sheet, as the senior's four goals and five points topped all scorers, while Newell (3 goals, 1 assist) also netted a hat trick for the visitors. Josh Teller (Milford, Conn., 5 saves) and Cannan (6 saves) each took a half in goal while the latter picks up the win after the comeback. McKinley is handed the loss despite 15 saves while Coates, Astle, and the Campanales, Casey and Jack turn in two goals apiece.

The Colonels' schedule resumes on Tuesday, April 16 as they host the conference-leading Golden Bears of Western New England University in Curry's final CCC match-up of the year. The contest is set to get underway at 4:00 p.m. in Milton, Mass. Nichols will also get back to action Tuesday at 4 p.m., as they travel to Becker College to make up a game originally scheduled for March 7.

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