Providence, R.I. – The Johnson & Wales University men's lacrosse squad opened the 2015 campaign with a 7-6 setback against Curry in a non-conference contest at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.
Curry took the 3-1 lead at the end of the first period after a pair of goals from junior Connor McKeon (Larchmont, N.Y.). Johnson & Wales responded with a pair of second period goals, including a goal from sophomore TJ Consiglio (New Fairfield, Conn.) as time expired to knot the game 3-3 heading into halftime.
The visiting Colonels pushed the lead back to two goals after an unassisted goal by sophomore John McMenomey (West Linn, Ore.) to make the score 5-3. Curry took the three goal lead as sophomore Brandon Flaim (Pembroke, Mass.) put in a pass from McMenomey to give the Colonels the 7-4 advantage. Johnson & Wales cut the lead to 7-5 on the first career goal for freshman Eric Russo (West Grove, Pa.) with an assist to fellow rookie Sam Sears (Baltimore, Md.) with 4:02 left on the clock. Sears then put in a pass from Russo with :13 remaining to cut the lead to 7-6. That would be all the scoring for the day, however as Curry held on for the 7-6 victory. Sears scored two goals and added a pair of assists while freshman Max Stone (Burlington, Conn.) also had a pair of goals in the setback for the Wildcats. McKeon and McMenomey each had a pair of goals in the win for Curry.
Freshman JC Guido (Miller Place, N.Y.) made 19 saves in the loss for Johnson & Wales. Sophomore Shane O'Brien (East Falmouth, Mass.) had nine stops in the first half in net while senior Dan Martin (Pittsfield, Mass.) had five saves in the second half for the win for Curry.
With the loss Johnson & Wales falls to 0-1 while Curry is 1-0 for the season. The Wildcats will travel to Texas where they will face off against Southwestern on March 3rd at 8:00 p.m. The Colonels will travel to Keystone on March 7th for a 1:00 p.m. game start. (Game Recap Courtesy of Johnson & Wales Sports Information)
