MILTON, Mass. – Sophomore
Nolan Burke (Worcester, Mass.) notched his third career hat trick but Plymouth State University came up just short in a 7-6 setback to Curry College in a non-conference men's lacrosse game at Walter M. Katz Field on Wednesday evening.
With the Panthers trailing 6-1 just 14 seconds into the third quarter, Burke attempted to spark a comeback effort. His first goal ignited a 5-1 surge as PSU rallied to cut the deficit to 7-6, but Plymouth State was unable to come up with the equalizer.
Curry jumpstarted the game with a 4-0 lead in the first quarter before Plymouth State began to retaliate. Senior
Riley Roy (Laconia, N.H.) got the Panthers on the board, but the hosts responded with two more scores to make it 6-1. Burke and junior
Karl Flinter (Pittsburgh, Pa.) closed out the third quarter with goals and after the Colonels added another score three minutes into the fourth, Burke scored back-to-back before junior
Nick Drew (Chelmsford, Mass.) found the back of the cage to cut the margin to 7-6 with 4:22 left to play. PSU was unable to find the game-tying goal, however, as Curry held on for the win.
Plymouth State falls to 0-2, while the Colonels (1-1) pick up their first win of the year.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 6, Curry 7
- Plymouth State (0-1)
- Curry (1-1)
Top Performers:
How it Happened:
- Curry ran up the score with four unanswered goals in the starting quarter, but Roy beat the Colonels' goaltender on a helper from freshman Matt Miner (Chelmsford, Mass.) at 4-1.
- The Colonels answered back with two more goals to extend the lead. Their efforts were met by Burke and Flinter, though, as the duo sparked a comeback effort heading to the final quarter trailing 6-3.
- Curry scored its last goal of the night 2:55 into the final frame, but the Panthers battled back. Burke completed his hat trick with feeds from freshman Ryan Jones (Tolland, Conn.) and Drew to make it 7-5 midway through the quarter.
- Drew tacked on one for himself to pull the Panthers to within one, 7-6, but that was as close as they would get.
By the Numbers:
- Burke's hat trick was the third of his career, after accomplishing the feat twice last spring. He leads the Panthers with four goals on the season.
- PSU was successful on 20-of-25 clear attempts, while Curry converted 19-of-25.
- Plymouth State held a 48-37 edge in shots.
- Freshman Leif Charbonneau (North Grafton, Mass.) won 7-of-15 faceoffs, while classmates Aiden O'Loughlin (Londonderry, N.H.) and Joey Loeber (Chelmsford, Mass.) along with sophomore Jack Bonazzoli (Clinton, Mass.) all accounted for two caused turnovers.
- PSU held a slight edge in ground balls, 29-26.
Up Next:
- The Panthers return home to face Gordon College a week from Thursday (Mar. 10) at 4:00 p.m.
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