Luongo with career-high six goals in LEC win

            BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Paul Luongo (Northborough, Mass.) scored a career-high six goals to lead Plymouth State University to a 15-9 win over the University of Massachusetts Boston in a Little East Conference (LEC) men's lacrosse game at James Cotter Field on Saturday afternoon.

            PSU took a 4-0 lead through the first five minutes of action and never looked back. UMB cut the margin to 4-3 early in the second quarter, but the Panthers ran off a string of five straight goals to take a 9-4 lead at the half. Plymouth State extended the lead to 13-6 by the end of the third and then coasted to the win with Luongo capping his career day with a pair of goals in the fourth quarter.

            Plymouth State improves to 5-6 and 4-1 in the LEC, while the Beacons drop to 2-13 and 1-5 in league play.

            The Final Score:

            Plymouth State 15, UMass Boston 9

            Records:

            Plymouth State (5-6, 4-1 LEC)

            UMass Boston (2-13, 1-5 LEC)

            How it Happened:

            * The Panthers got off to a good start when sophomore Connor Delea (Manchester, N.H.) notched his first of the game after just 51 seconds of action.

            * Luongo picked up his first of the day to double the lead just over two minutes later, and senior Sam McCoy (Dewey Beach, Del.) added his first of the year.

            * Luongo struck again to push the lead to 4-0, but freshman Jeremy Girard (Hinsdale, Mass.) answered for the Beacons near the end of the opening quarter.

            * The hosts opened the second quarter with back-to-back goals to cut the PSU lead to 4-3, but the Panthers responded with five straight tallies to take control.

            * Senior Casey Elkins (Stow, Mass.) opened the streak, with Luongo, Delea and senior Chris Waterbury (Clinton, Conn.) all getting into the action.

            * Sophomore Chase Mercier (Boscawen, N.H.) capped the run with a man-up goal to make it 9-3, and the Panthers led 9-4 at the half.

            * The Beacons wrapped a pair of tallies around a goal from junior Trevor Gagnon (Pelham, N.H.) to trim the lead to 10-6, but PSU closed out the quarter with a 3-0 spurt including goals from Delea, senior Jake Burns (Salem, N.H.) and Luongo's fourth of the day.

            * UMB struck in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to make it 13-7, but Luongo followed with back-to-back goals to give Plymouth State a comfortable 15-7 lead with less than ten minutes to play.

            * The hosts added a pair of late goals to account for the final score.

            Inside the Numbers:

            * Luongo's six goals are a career-high, topping his previous mark of five set earlier this year. He has scored in each of the last six games.

            * Delea finished with three goals and an assist and leads the Panthers with 35 goals and 43 points.

            * Waterbury, Burns and Elkins each notched a goal and three assists.

            * Junior Chuck Harrington (Walpole, Mass.) led PSU with nine ground balls, while senior Sean Peet (Glen Cove, N.Y.) added five.

            * Sophomore Robert Porter (Groveland, Mass.) earned the win to improve to 4-2 after a 14-save effort.

            * UMass Boston outshot PSU by a 53-30 margin, though only 23 of the Beacons' shots were on goal, compared to 25 for the Panthers.

            Up Next:

            * Both teams remain in conference play on Tuesday (Apr. 23). PSU celebrates its Senior Day with a 7:00 p.m. game against LEC-foe Castleton University at the New Hampton School, while the Beacons visit the University of Southern Maine at the same time.

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