CURTIS NOTCHES 100TH CAREER TALLY IN MLAX VICTORY

BOSTON, Mass. - Senior captain Chris Curtis (Ashland, Mass.) scored five goals, including the 100th goal of his career, to lead the Emmanuel College men's lacrosse team to a 13-10 victory over Alfred University in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on Monday afternoon.

The Saints (1-3) earned their first victory of 2016, while the Saxons (2-1) suffered their first loss of the year. 

Alfred came out firing and broke the scoring open 15 seconds into the opening quarter when junior John Winchell (Vestal, N.Y.) ripped a shot past EC freshman goaltender Cole Scadden (San Diego, Calif.) to grab the 1-0 lead. 

Alfred scored three of the next four goals, extending the lead to 4-1, but the Saints battled back and ended the quarter with two goals of their own, by Curtis and senior Michael Rogers (New Haven, Conn.), to cut the lead to 4-3.

The middle quarters of the game swung in the favor of the Saints, as Brendan McWilliams' squad outscored Alfred 8-3, including a stretch of six unanswered. Curtis scored three straight goals in the run to push EC's lead to 9-5, and then the teams traded pairs of goals to end the third quarter with a 11-7 Emmanuel lead.

Junior Tony Cibelli (Westboro, Mass.) scored a man-up goal at 10:25 of the fourth quarter, one of two man-up goals for the Saints. The Saxons made a final push down the stretch of the quarter, but could only get within three goals, falling 13-10.

The run was stopped in it's tracks by Scadden, who made 20 saves in his first collegiate victory. Scadden's save total broke the Emmanuel College single-game record of 19 that was previously held by Austin Lauzier, current assistant coach, and the only four-year starter in the program's history.

Curtis' five goal, one assist performance, was helped by Cibelli's three goals and two assists.

Sophomore Jake Lynch (Whitney Point, N.Y. led the Saxons with four goals and an assist to his credit, along with 20 shot attempts and 13 on goal.

Senior Pat Heffernan (Pembroke, Mass.) had seven ground balls to lead the Saints, while junior Jimmy Pratti (Slatehill, N.Y.) picked up 11 for Alfred.

Pratti was a force in the faceoff circle for AU, going 16-22 on the day. Sophomore Michael Sousa (Cranston, R.I.) and senior Tony Marcella (North Bridgton, Me.) combined to go 7-23 for the Saints.

Next up for the Saints is a 1 p.m. matchup with the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on Friday, while Alfred will face USMMA two days earlier, at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.