Saints Late Scoring Run Falls Short in 12-7 Defeat at Emerson

BOSTON – A seven-goal unanswered run to close the first half for the Lions helped Emerson to a 12-7 victory over the Emmanuel Saints on Wednesday night in non-conference play at Rotch Field.

The Lions move to 3-2 after the win and are 2-0 against the Great Northeast Athletic Conference this season after a win on Feb. 24 over Saint Joseph's College. The Saints are still in search of their first win as the head into March.

Emerson led 2-1 halfway through the first quarter before seven straight goals over the final 21:47 launched the Lions to a 9-1 halftime lead. Junior Jack Burns (Clarksville, Md.) and senior Nicholas Fulgione (North Andover, Mass.) capped off the first quarter with goals to give Emerson a 4-1 edge.

Burns added three of the Lions five goals in the second quarter, to go along with goals by senior Birk Swan (Palos Verdes, Calif.) and sophomore Thomas Pozo (Coral Gables, Fla.), all part of a 5-0 second quarter that gave the Lions a 9-1 lead at the half.

A 3-1 third quarter helped the Lions to their largest lead of the night at 12-2 before the Saints made a run fourth quarter to cut down that 10-goal deficit. Emmanuel outscored Emerson 5-0 in the fourth quarter but ultimately ran out of time to continue making their charge.

Burns finished the night with five goals on a game-high nine total shots. Fulgione and Swan each added a pair of goals in the victory. First-year Gardner Quinn (Towson, Md.) had a team-high six ground balls while going 16-of-26 on faceoffs. Grad student Malcolm McGrath (Ridgefield, Conn.) got the start in goal for the Lions, playing 31:09 to pick up the win.

Saints junior Ryan Etzo (Bedford, N.H.) and sophomore Cole Cloney (Medfield, Mass.) each scored twice in the defeat. Etzo added two assists for a four-point night to go along with three ground balls. Junior Jack Antico (Elkridge, Md.) matched the game-high with six ground balls. Senior goalie Eric Anderson (Sparta, N.J.) made 16 saves, falling to 0-2 this season with the loss.

The Saints return to play on March 2 with a trip to Nichols College for a 4:00 p.m. faceoff. The Lions are also back to play on March 2 as they head to Vassar for a 1:00 p.m. game.