(Box Score)
DANBURY, Conn. – Senior Adam
Lanehart (Redding, Conn.) scored back-to-back goals early
in the second quarter Saturday afternoon to lead the Western
Connecticut State University men's lacrosse team to an 8-4
victory over Plymouth State in the Little East Conference opener at
the Westside Athletic Complex.
Lanehart finished with three goals for WestConn, while sophomore
Sean Macey (New Fairfield, Conn.) scored twice. Freshman John
Miller (Seattle, Wash.), sophomore Ryan Gillis (Norwich, Conn.),
sophomore Mike Schoen (Tolland, Conn.) each scored one goal for the
Colonials.
Junior Andrew Ericksen (Beverly, Mass.) led the
PSU offense with two goals and an assist, while freshman
Shawn McEvoy (Spring, Texas) added a goal and an
assist and senior Brian Giroux (Wolfeboro Falls,
N.H.) scored one goal.
Schoen got the Colonials on the board early in the first quarter
with an unassisted goal. That score held up for nearly 10
minutes of play until Eriksen and McEvoy scored goals two minutes
apart late in the first quarter to give the visitors their only
lead of the day, 2-1. After a Plymouth State penalty, Macey
took a pass from senior A.J. Barbieri (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) and
found the back of the net for a 2-2 score at the end of one
quarter.
The second frame was all WestConn. Lanehart's goals
gave the Colonials a 4-2 advantage five minutes into the
second. Gillis scored an unassisted goal at the 6:55 mark, and
the Colonials pushed their advantage to four goals 11 seconds later
when Miller collected the ground ball off the face-off and raced in
for another unassisted goal. Macey's goal with just
over one minute remaining gave WestConn a 7-2 lead at the
intermission.
After out-shooting the Panthers 15-5 in the second quarter,
WestConn managed only four shots in the third, while goalkeeper
Tyler Martone (Cheshire, Conn.) turned away all 11 shots taken by
Plymouth State. Lanehart's third goal of the game at
the 9:34 mark of the fourth quarter gave WestConn an 8-2 lead, and
the Plymouth State scoring draught continued until Ericksen scored
his second goal with under eight minutes to play. Martone and
the WestConn defense held the Plymouth State offense scoreless for
more than 40 minutes. Giroux scored the final Panther goal
with six seconds remaining.
WestConn held a 42-35 advantage in shots, 21-16 in shots on
goal. WestConn's Eric Small (Glastonbury, Conn.)
dominated play in the face-off circle winning 13 of 16.
Martone finished with 12 saves in goal for WestConn to earn his
third win of the season, while Kevin Hayes
(Beverly, Mass.) made 13 saves for Plymouth State.
WestConn, 3-6 overall, returns to action next Saturday when
it hosts LEC rival Southern Maine at 12 noon. PSU, 2-5
overall, plays its home opener on Sunday, Apr. 11, against
conference foe Eastern Connecticut (12:30 p.m.)
(Courtesy of Western Connecticut Sports
Information)
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