BIG THIRD QUARTER PROPELS MEN’S LACROSSE OVER UMASS DARTMOUTH, 13-9

BOSTON, Mass. – Trailing 6-3 at the half, Emmanuel College scored six unanswered goals in the third quarter en route to a 13-9 win over University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth on Tuesday evening in non-conference men’s lacrosse action at Roberto Clemente Field. The win lifts the Saints to 2-5 on the year while the Corsairs dip to 1-5 overall.

Junior Michael Sousa set the new single-game groundball record with 17 in the win over UMass Dartmouth
Junior Michael Sousa set the new single-game groundball record with 17 in the win over UMass Dartmouth
March 28, 2017

BOSTON, Mass. – Trailing 6-3 at the half, Emmanuel College scored six unanswered goals in the third quarter en route to a 13-9 win over University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth on Tuesday evening in non-conference men's lacrosse action at Roberto Clemente Field. The win lifts the Saints to 2-5 on the year while the Corsairs dip to 1-5 overall.

After a 3-3 score in the opening period, UMass Dartmouth took control of the action in the second quarter scoring three times to take a 6-3 cushion into halftime. Freshman middie Mike Rizzo (Bridgewater, Mass.) junior DJ Miller (Ashland, Mass.) and senior Sean Peters (Medway, Mass.) found the back of the net to give the visitor's the three-goal advantage at the half.

Coming out of the break, Emmanuel rallied for six unanswered goals to fuel the Saints to its second home win of the season. Senior Tony Cibelli (Westboro, Mass.) started the offensive assault with his 14th marker of the campaign to make it 6-4. Junior middie Collin Conley (Dudley, Mass.) netted his first goal of the campaign to cut the Corsair lead to one at 6-5 before freshman Andrew Griffin (Arlington, Mass.) evened the score at 6-6 with 9:48 to play in the quarter. Junior faceoff specialist Michael Sousa (Cranston, R.I.) gave the Saints the lead for good with his first goal of the season coming directly off one of his 21 faceoff wins. Sousa added 17 groundballs in the game, a new Emmanuel single-game record breaking the previous mark of 14 set by Jake Pickett ('15) in 2015. Freshman Nicholas Bontempo (Water Hill, N.Y.) and senior Donnie Litzelman (Stratham, N.H.) capped the scoring flurry to make it a 9-6 game with just over three minutes to play in the third before Peters ended the run with his second goal of the action coming on a man-up score with 22 seconds to play in the third and make it 9-7 heading into the final frame.

The Saints added some insurance early in the fourth as Cibelli and sophomore Sam Ward (Hampstead, N.H.) netted goals to bump the lead to four at 11-7. The four-goal margin would hold at the squads traded scores over the final eight minutes to account for the 13-9 final.

EC junior goalie Austin Rosenberg (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) made 14 saves to earn the win while UMD keeper Matt LaFond (Bridgewater, Mass.) made 12 stops for the Corsairs.

Emmanuel returns to action on Saturday, April 1 for its Great Northeast Athletic Conference opener on the road at Norwich University for a 1:00 PM start. The Corsairs also open conference play this Saturday when they host Keene State College in a Little East Conference showdown scheduled for 1:00 PM.