Men's Lacrosse Opens Season With Saturday Loss at UMass Boston

BOSTON - Emmanuel Saints men's lacrosse opened up their 2024 season with a Saturday afternoon loss against the UMass Boston Beacons, 18-9, at James Cotter Field in non-conference play.

THE BASICS
UMass Boston 18, Emmanuel College 9

UMass Boston (1-0)
Emmanuel College (0-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Emmanuel's Tyler Cardinal gave UMass Boston's rookie goalie, James Boldy, a not-so-warm welcome to collegiate lacrosse in the opening minutes of the game, slipping a ball past him for an early 1-0 lead.

The Beacons, however, wasted no time with the response. Sean Daly, a transfer from Division II Franklin Pierce, used his imposing frame to tear through the Saints defense, netting the team's first goal in his debut. 

After Daly tied the game at one, Wills ripped off three of his six assists in a span of less than five minutes. Newcomer Jaden Cronin and veterans Luke Murphy and Zach Mann all used a helper from Wills to stretch the UMass Boston lead to 4-1.
With just under four minutes left to play in the first quarter, the Beacons were six seconds shy of killing off a penalty when the Saints capitalized on the man-up opportunity to cut their deficit to 4-2.

Sean Daly picked up his second goal and Wolff added the first two of his five before the first quarter came to a close, bringing the Beacons' lead to 7-3 and bringing Wills assist total to five after just 15 minutes of play.

The second quarter saw a far stronger defensive showing from both sides as the Saints and Beacons netted just two goals apiece before halftime. For the Beacons, Wills netted his first collegiate goal for his sixth point of the game and Patrick Dwinnells cued the goal song for the first time in his freshman campaign.

Though they struggled to put together runs throughout the game, Emmanuel was able to keep the score tight in the third, matching both of the Beacons' early goals.

With just under three minutes to play in the third, Wills ripped off his third goal of the day, sparking a run of seven unanswered goals for the Beacons. After the final playing of the first 30 seconds of the Isley Brothers' "Shout," the home team had built out a 18-7 lead with less than five minutes to play in the game.

BY THE NUMBERS

• After letting the opening goal of the game, Boldy locked in to save 12 of the 19 shots he faced, earning the victory in his collegiate debut
• Wills finished his debut with three goals and six assists for nine total points
• Wolff added an assist to his five goals for six points on the day
• Matt Lucozzi won 20 of his 26 faceoffs against the Saints
• Outside of Lucozzi, reigning Little East Conference Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Carey led the way with eight ground balls
• The Beacons took control of the all-time series with Emmanuel, winning their second of the three matchups

WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will hit the road on Wednesday, February 28 when they head to Worcester to face Clark University. That game will be played under the lights, starting at 7 PM. The Saints are also back on February 28, traveling to Emerson College for a 6:00 p.m. game.

**Release courtesy UMass Boston Athletic Communication Office