Men's Lacrosse Drops Season-Opener to WIT, 11-5

THE BASICS 
Scores: 
Wentworth Inst. of Technology, 11 – Emmanuel College, 5

Records: 
Emmanuel Saints (0-1, 0-0 GNAC)
Wentworth Leopards (1-1, 0-0 CCC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Sweeney Field

Date: Sunday, February 26, 2023

THE LEAD – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's lacrosse team (1-1) offensively lit it up against the Emmanuel Saints (0-1) on a frigid Sweeney Field Saturday afternoon, resulting in an 11-5 victory for the Leopards as head coach Dan Russo earned his 67^th career win at the helm, making him the winningest coach in program history.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Saints got off to a hot start scoring two goals over the first five minutes of action to take an early 2-0 lead. Senior Colin Dickinson (Barre, Vt.) and first year Cole Cloney (Medfield, Mass.) netted unassisted tallies to put Emmanuel on top in the first.
• After WIT surrendered the pair of EC goals the hosts rattled off three-straight in a matter of 1:30, as freshman Kobi Buffa (Craryville, N.Y.), senior Liam Carroll (Brookfield, Conn.), and sophomore Jared Hiller (North Andover, Mass.) all tallied for the hosts. A rip by junior Drew Bouley (Gloucester, Mass.) on the man-advantage with 3:40 to go in the first quarter gave Wentworth a 4-2 edge.
• A quiet start to the second quarter turned to Wentworth's favor when senior Jack Wishart (Reading, Mass.) and Carroll scored 19 seconds apart to put the hosts ahead 6-2. After a Saints' goal, Hiller notched a goal with 1:22 to go in the half to bring the Leopards lead back to four at 7-3.
• Hiller nicked things off in the third quarter with a tally at the 13:24 mark, bringing the score to 8-3. Cloney scored his second goal of the game before WIT sophomore Erik Vogt (Warwick, N.Y.) ripped the twine 25 seconds later, bringing the score to 9-4 on the ensuing faceoff. At the 4:38 mark, Carroll picked up a ground ball and took it in to score, marking a 10-4 score.
• As the Saints began to press in the final quarter, Wentworth answered, as Wishart notched a goal at the 12:19 mark to give the hosts their biggest lead of the day at 11-4. With 29 seconds to go, the Saints tallied once more on an unassisted marker from sophomore Chase Greenlaw (Warwick, R.I.), but that was all in an 11-5 final score.
• Freshman Samuel Silva (San Antonio, Texas) went 10-19 at the draw and scooped up four ground balls. Sophomore Ryan Kalberer (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) made 10 saves in his first win of the campaign.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• WIT sophomore Ryan Kalberer (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) made 10 saves in his first win of the campaign.
• EC junior goalie Eric Anderson (Sparta, N.J.) made 11 saves in defeat
• The squads split the faceoff battle on the day, both sides winning 10 of the 20 restarts.
• Wentworth owned a 43-32 advantage in shots paced by a game-high nine attempts from Bouley.
• Along with Russo's milestone day, Hiller and Carroll both notched hat-tricks and added an assist in today's contest.
• The Leopards have won the last four meetings with Emmanuel and owns the all-time series, 5-2.

UP NEXT

• The Saints return to action on Wednesday, March 1 for another road affair when they face off against Nichols College in Dudley, Mass. at 4:00 PM.
• Wentworth travel to Saint Joseph's (Maine) the same afternoon for a 4:00 PM tilt.

*Some release content provided by the WIT Athletic Communication office