OFFENSIVE SURGE POWERS JWU PAST MEN'S LACROSSE, 15-11

BOSTON, Mass. - THE BASICS Scores: Emmanuel College, 11 | Johnson & Wales University, 15 Records: Emmanuel College Saints (2-7, 2-1 GNAC); Johnson &Wales University Wildcats (2-8, 1-3 GNAC) Location: Boston, Mass.- Roberto Clemente Field Date: Saturday March 30, 2019 THE LEAD – The Johnson & Wales University men’s lacrosse scored four straight goals to open the third quarter, breaking a 5-5 halftime tie en route to a 15-11 road win over Emmanuel College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Roberto Clemente Field. HOW IT HAPPENED • In competitive back and forth action, each team scored two goals in the first ten minutes of the game. • After the rest of the first quarter went unanswered, JWU senior Ben Farrell (Baltimore, Md.) found the back of the net at the 11:13 mark in the second quarter with an assist from senior Thomas Lyons (Burlington, Mass.) to put the Wildcats on top, 3-2. • Lyons then followed up with goal assisted by sophomore Matt Gelb (Huntington, N.Y.) to extend the Wildcats’ lead, 4-2. • Emmanuel closed the gap on a goal from junior Alex Flanagan (Westford, Mass.) but the Wildcats responded with another goal just over a minute later, 5-3. • With less than a minute left in the second quarter, the Saints scored two goals to tie the game at 5-5 as Flanagan made it 5-4 with 58 seconds to play before senior Matt Katon (East Falmouth, Mass.) evened the action with 10 seconds left in the half. • Johnson & Wales wasted little time to regain the lead as Brad Ketz (Sandy Hook, Conn.) gave the Wildcats the lead for good with one of his four tallies on the afternoon just 1:10 into the third quarter to make it 6-5. • Tyler Drago (Wakefield, Mass.) made it 7-5 before Farrell scored consecutive goals to put the visitors ahead 9-5 with just over five minutes to play in the quarter. • The Saints rallied as senior Ben Hartig-Orr (Reading, Vt.) and Flanagan answered with scores to cut the deficit in half at 9-7 but JWU closed the quarter strong with two more scores from Ketz to carry a four-goal, 11-7 lead into the final frame. • In the final quarter, the squads traded goals to open the action before two quick goals by Johnson & Wales gave the visitors a comfortable 14-8 advantage with 8:37 to play. • Emmanuel outscored the Wildcats by a 3-1 margin over the final seven minutes including the first collegiate goal by freshman John Doherty (Leominster, Mass.) but it was not enough at Johnson & Wales held on for the 15-11 win. INSIDE THE NUMBERS • Katon finished the day with six points on four goals and two assists while Flanagan also scored four goals to go along with one helper. • Kertz and Lyons each paced the Wildcats with four goals each while Gelb finished the afternoon with a career-high seven assists. • JWU freshman goalkeeper Kyle Mangan (Ithaca, N.Y.) made a season-high 17 saves in net for the Wildcats to improve to 1-2 on the year • EC keeper Aric Graves (Manchester, Conn.) stopped 10 shots in the losing effort to fall to 2-5. UP NEXT • Emmanuel returns to action on Tuesday, April 2 when they play host to Lasell College at 7:00 PM in more GNAC action. • The Wildcats are back in the Greater Boston area on Wednesday, April 3 when they head to Cambridge, Mass. to take on MIT at 5:00 PM in non-conference play.