Annunciata and Frank lead Panther offense

            MILTON, Mass. – Freshmen Chris Annunciata (Waltham, Mass.) and Zach Frank (Wakefield, Mass.) scored three goals apiece Thursday afternoon as Plymouth State University held off Curry College, 13-11, in men's lacrosse action at Katz Field.

            Curry grabbed a 3-1 lead late in the first quarter but Plymouth State came back to score seven of the next eight goals to pull ahead 8-4 midway through the third period.  The Colonels mounted their first comeback attempt late in the third period, pulling to within two goals (9-7) but PSU countered with four of the next five to pull away to a 13-8 advantage.  Curry gave one last rally, scoring the final three goals of the game, but PSU held on for the non-conference win.  PSU is now 5-3 overall and Curry is 4-8.

            Frank also added an assist to his scoring totals, while sophomores Mike Ventura (Columbia, N.J.) and Stephen Patch (Newbury, N.H.) contributed two goals and one assist apiece.  Sophomore Ty Long (Dover, N.H.) chipped in with a goal and three assists, and classmate Devon Smith (Plattekill, N.Y.) picked up a season-high 10 ground balls.

            Curry had a balanced scoring attack, led by Joseph Natale with three goals and one assist.  John O'Donnell and Sean Gallagher tallied two goals apiece, and four others found the net once each. Kyle Abbott won 10 of 15 face-offs and collected a team-high eight ground balls.

            Shots for the two teams were even at 34 apiece while PSU had a slim 23-20 margin in ground balls.  Senior Kevin Hayes (Beverly, Mass.) made eight saves to record the win in the Panther goal while Michael Hibbard made 13 saves for Curry.

            Plymouth State returns to Little East Conference play Saturday with a 1:00 p.m. game at UMass Dartmouth.  Curry gets back into action in The Commonwealth Coast Conference next Tuesday, hosting the University of New England at 4:00 p.m. 

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