Waterbury scores twice, Kerkel makes 15 saves in setback

            NEWTON, Mass. – Senior Chris Waterbury (Clinton, Conn.) scored a pair of goals and senior Zel Kerkel (Loudon, N.H.) made 15 saves, but a late surge led Lasell College past Plymouth State University, 13-6, in a non-conference men's lacrosse game at Grellier Field on Saturday.

            Plymouth State scored twice in the first five minutes, but the Lasers notched the next four goals to take a 4-2 lead in the early stages of the second quarter. The teams traded goals as Lasell went into the half with a 5-3 advantage.

            Another Lasers' goal pushed the lead to 6-3, but Waterbury tallied two of the next three goals to make it a 7-5 game with 5:12 left in the third. Lasell answered with six straight goals to put the game away, before Plymouth State added a late goal to account for the final score.

            Plymouth State has its record evened at 1-1, while the Lasers improve to 2-1.

            The Final Score:

            Plymouth State 6, Lasell 13

            Records:

            Plymouth State (1-1)

            Lasell (2-1)

            How it Happened:

            * Senior Casey Elkins (Stow, Mass.) put the Panthers ahead in the first two minutes of action, and sophomore Chase Mercier (Boscawen, N.H.) made it 2-0 less than a minute later.

            * Lasell answered with the next three goals to take a 3-2 lead at the end of the quarter.

            * The Lasers added another goal 5:47 into the second period, but senior Jake Burns (Salem, N.H.) got the goal back two minutes later.

            * The hosts struck again with 2:28 left in the half to make it 5-3 at the break.

            * Lasell made it 6-3 in the first five minutes of the third, before Waterbury tallied two of the next three goals to pull the Panthers to within 7-5.

            * Senior Ryan Madden (Hingham, Mass.) scored three straight goals as part of a 6-0 surge by the Lasers as the lead ballooned to 13-5, before junior Trevor Gagnon (Pelham, N.H.) accounted for the final score with his second goal of the year.

            Inside the Numbers:

            * Waterbury led the offense with two goals, while Elkins and senior Sam McCoy (Dewey Beach, Del.) each scooped up six ground balls.

            * Burns and Mercier each finished with a goal and an assist for the Panthers, and senior Sean Peet (Glen Cove, N.Y.) collected five ground balls.

            * Kerkel was tested often, making 15 saves on 28 shots to go to 1-1, while his counterpart, freshman Alex Beauchemin (Westfield, Mass.), made 10 saves on 16 shots to improve to 2-1.

            Up Next:

            * Plymouth State heads to Curry College a week from Sunday (Mar. 17) for a 2:00 p.m. non-conference tilt.

            * The Lasers host Eastern Connecticut State on Tuesday (Mar. 12) at 3:00 p.m.

– 30 –