ST. GEORGE LIFTS PLYMOUTH STATE OVER MEN’S LACROSSE, 10-4

NASHUA, N.H. – Senior goalie Chris St. George (Marblehead, Mass.) made 20 saves to lead the Plymouth State University men's lacrosse team past Emmanuel College, 10-4, Saturday morning at Raider Field on the campus of Rivier University. After trailing 1-0 after the first quarter, the Panthers (1-0) scored eight unanswered goals to take control of the game en route to their first victory of the year while the Saints fall to 1-1.

A physical contest right from the opening whistle, EC took advantage of the game's first penalty with a man-up score at the 12:54 marker of the opening period as junior middie Michael Donovan (Assonet, Mass.) found the back of the net with the help of an assist from sophomore Tony Cibelli (Westboro, Mass.)

The Emmanuel defensive was able to hold Plymouth State scoreless for almost 20 minutes until sophomore Colin Claflin's (Pembroke, Mass.) goal with 10:31 to play in the second quarter evened the score at 1-1. With the score the Panthers offense came to life as the visitor's would rattle off eight consecutive goals to give them all the momentum they would need to hold on for the win.

Senior attack Mike Trocchi (Danvers, Mass.) put PSU up for good with 8:48 left in the second quarter on a man-up goal to make it 2-1 and minutes later, senior middie Aaron Boss (Keene, N.H.) made it 3-1 with his first goal of the campaign. The Panthers closed the half strong to make it 4-1 with a goal by senior C.J. Frates (Merrimack, N.H.) with just 18 seconds remaining to account for a 4-1 halftime score.

Plymouth State opened the second half in strong, scoring 13 seconds into the third period as senior middie Nick Morello (North Billerica, Mass.) scooped up the groundball from the faceoff and found sophomore Nicco Sorrentino (Chelmsford, Mass.) for an easy score to make it 5-1.

Morello added a goal of his own at the 10:12 marker to make it 6-1 before junior attack Phil Pichel (Hopkinton, Mass.) added insult to injury for the Saints, scoring on a man-down situation to bump the Panthers lead to 7-1 with 6:15 remaining in the third.

With 4:01 to play in the third quarter, Boss made it 8-1 with a man-up tally, assisted by Trocchi to account for the eighth consecutive goal by PSU. EC was able to close out the quarter on a high note as junior Chris Curtis (Ashland, Mass.) scored his fifth goal of the year to make it 8-2 heading into the final quarter.

The Saints showed signed of life and goals by sophomore attack Donnie Litzelman (Exeter, N.H.) and Cibelli pulled Emmanuel to within four with an 8-4 score with 6:25 left in regulation but a goal by Sorrentino with 5:08 to play dashed any hopes of a comeback, returning the deficit to five goals at 9-4.

Pichel would tack on the final marker with 59 seconds left on the clock to account for the 10-4 final.

On the afternoon, Emmanuel outshot the Panthers 42-24 but thanks to St. George's stellar performance in between the pipes it was a non-factor in the result. EC senior goalie Austin Lauzier (Bedford, N.H.) made three saves on the day for the Saints.

The Saints return to action on Wednesday, March 4 when they head to Cambridge, Mass. to take on MIT at 4:00 PM while the Panthers are idle until Saturday, March 7 when they travel to University of New England for a 3:00 PM contest.