PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Plymouth State University scored five unanswered goals late in the third quarter and early in the fourth Wednesday afternoon and went on to post its eighth straight victory, a 12-11 come-from-behind verdict over Curry College in the men’s lacrosse home opener at Panther Field.
The visiting Colonels (6-5) led most of the first three quarters of the game, and went up 9-6 with a minute remaining in the third quarter. But PSU (8-1) came alive, scoring once with five seconds remaining in the third frame, then tallied the first four goals of the fourth quarter to open up an 11-9 margin. Junior Mike Ventura (Columbia, N.J.) scored the first two goals for PSU in the rally, while classmate Ty Long (Dover, N.H.) and freshmen Nick Morello (North Billerica, Mass.) and Ross Murphy (Billerica, Mass.) added one each.
Senior Russell Lanham (Silver Spring, Md.) added a pair of fourth quarter goals for Curry, the last one coming with 4:09 remaining that cut the PSU lead to 12-11. Both teams had opportunities in the final four minutes but neither team was able to score.
The Panthers finished with a balanced scoring attack, with five players scoring two goals each – Ventura, Long, Morello, and sophomores Zach Frank (Wakefield, Mass.) and Chris Annunciata (Waltham, Mass.) Sophomore Scott Giusti (Newton, Mass.) had a strong game in the midfield, winning 18-of-25 face-offs and picking up nine ground balls.
Sophomore Connor Arnold (Clifton, N.Y.) led the Colonels with four goals and an assist, while Lanham finished with three goals and two assists. Junior Joseph Natale (Haverhill, Mass.) and freshman Ronald Jensen (Zionsville, Ind.) also tallied two goals each for Curry.
Plymouth State had a 44-28 advantage in shots and a 41-25 margin in ground balls. PSU senior goalie Jack Tyo (East Sandwich, Mass.) made nine saves to improve to 8-0, while senior Michael Hibbard (North Chelmsford, Mass.) stopped 11 shots for the visitors.
The Panthers travel to Eastern Connecticut State University this Saturday for a key Little East Conference match-up. Curry returns home to host Nichols Saturday in a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest. (Game Recap Courtesy of Plymouth State Sports Information)
