MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College men's lacrosse team turned on the jets in the second quarter and never looked back to lock up a 20-14 victory over the Nor'easters of the University of New England (UNE). With the league win, the Colonels improve to 3-3 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) and 6-7 overall. The Nor'easters sit at 5-8 on the year with a 0-4 mark in the conference.
The early goings of this game set the game up to be a thriller. Alex Zadworny (Florence, Mass.) scored the first goal of the game for UNE, but Matthew Scahill (Gales Ferry, Conn.) knotted the score less than five minutes later for the hosts. The teams would trade goals to the tune of three first-quarter ties, before a last second goal by Mitch Mullin (Cumberland, Maine) sent the Nor'easters to the second quarter with a 4-3 lead. As play resumed, Devin Newell (Medford, Mass.) found the net for the first time of the day to even up the score. Following the tally, Alec Beveridge (Arrowsic, Maine) and Jared Hall (North Andover, Mass.) scored 65 seconds apart to give UNE the first two-goal edge of the day, but it would be short-lived. Over a three-minute span, the Colonels ripped off five straight goals to take a 9-6 lead, highlighted by an unassisted marker by Newell to convert a man-up advantage and secure his fourth hat trick of the year. Zadworny put in his second score of the day to cut the deficit to two with eight minutes to play in the first half, but with the clock winding down, Curry jumped on another rally and got four goals from four different players to break the game open at 13-7, taking the six-goal advantage to the half.
Throughout the second half, UNE threatened to claw their way back into the tilt, but the hosts kept forcing them back down. Quarter number three started with a Harrison Fallon (Wrentham, Mass.) goal to double up the Nor'easters at 14-7. Three straight scores by the visitors, though, quickly made the tally 14-10 with four minutes left on the clock. Jake Stebbins (Colchester, Vt.) and Kyle Lussier (Topsham, Maine) padded the Curry lead before the third quarter expired, but the game was far from over as the teams headed to the fourth with a 16-10 score. Nearly five minutes ticked off the clock before the final frame saw any scoring, but Beveridge killed the silence with a helper from Zadworthy, before Garett Bozek (Nashua, N.H.) and Jason Erwin (Gloucester, Mass.) aided in chipping away at the deficit, which had been cut once again to three. With hat tricks already in hand, Kyle Ton (Norwich, Conn.) and Newell got a pair of goals back for the hosts, bringing the clock down under seven and squeezing out lengthy possessions. Zach Bossi (Amherst, N.H.) notched his second score of the day with a player advantage, but it would be the final Nor'easter goal of the day. MJ Urbano (Wakefield, Mass.) and Newell each put in unassisted tallies to wrap up the match-up, giving the Colonels their third 20 goal performance of the season and a 20-14 conference victory.
Newell registered season highs in goals (six) and points (eight) as he led the charge in the victory. Fallon dished out four helped while White scooped up 13 ground balls. Josh Teller (Milford, Conn., 4-5) earns the win in goal, grabbing 10 saves to break double-digit for the fourth time this season. Zadworny and Bozek turn in matching five-point days with three goals and two assists apiece, while goalie Sam MacKenzie (Worthington, Ohio, 5-8) hauled in 12 saves in the loss.
UNE will return to the field on Saturday, April 13, as they try to snap a five-game losing streak. The Nor'easters will take on Salve Regina at home at 1:00 p.m. in another CCC match-up. Curry also resumes play on Saturday, travelling to Nichols College to continue their conference slate at 11:00 a.m.
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