WENHAM, Mass.—Gordon Men's Lacrosse netted three fourth-quarter goals to rally past quick-start Curry College, 8-7, on Tuesday afternoon. The Fighting Scots trailed for the first 51 minutes of the game, but timely goals from Brenton Cosden (Chicago, Ill.) and leading scorer Jake Martin (Watertown, Conn.) helped Gordon shake off its tough start.
Curry entered the game searching for its first conference win of the season after two tough losses at the hands of Salve Regina and Western New England in the last week. The Colonels caught the short-handed Scots off-guard in the opening moments, striking for a goal just two minutes into the first quarter. Connor Arnold (Clifton Park, N.Y.) blasted a ball over the shoulder of Cody Greenwald (Albany, N.Y.) for the first goal of the game on a man-up opportunity.
Penalties hurt the Scots again just five minutes later, as Curry made the Scots pay with two more advantage scores from Kevin Vincens (Ellington, Conn.) and Arnold to pad their lead to three goals.
Down several starters due to injury, the Fighting Scots needed someone to fill the void in the midfield. Roger Evans (Oxford, Pa.) ended Gordon's scoring drought in the 10th minute with an unassisted strike. Curry carried its 3-1 lead into the second quarter.
The Colonels extended their leads back to three goals early in the second quarter with an off-balance score. Gordon counter punched a quick response from Matt Dantona (Syosset, N.Y.) and Evans to bring the game back within reach. The two teams traded two more scores in the period and Curry held a 5-4 edge at halftime.
Evans completed his hat-trick in the third quarter, but the Colonels outscored the Fighting Scots in the period thanks to goals from John McMenomey (West Linn, Ore.) and Connor McKeon (Larchmont, N.Y.). The Colonels needed only one more solid defensive quarter to pick up a big conference win on the road.
Curry shifted its focus to the defensive end of the field, but Gordon refused to go away quietly. Dantona added his second goal of the game with 11:15 remaining in the game, bringing the Fighting Scots within a single score. Two minutes later Cosden put home a nifty goal while falling away from the net, bouncing the ball under the feet of Curry keeper Daniel Martin (Pittsfield, Mass.) to tie the game for the first time.
Both teams scrambled for control in the closing minutes, but Martin became the hero for the Scots. Held scoreless for a majority of the game, Martin's lone goal of the contest clinched the comeback victory, 8-7.
Each squad's keeper was peppered with shots all game and both had to make several huge saves to keep the game close. Martin finished with 17 saves for the Colonels, while Greenwald had a game-high 22 saves for his sixth win of the year.
The Scots (6-5) have a tough road trip ahead with games at Endicott on Saturday and the University of New England next Wednesday. Curry (5-6) continues their three-game stretch away from Milton with a game at Wentworth a week from Wednesday. (Game recap courtesy of Gordon Sports Information)
