PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Junior
Crosby Fay (Waterville Valley, N.H.) poured in five goals and Plymouth State University held off a late rally to stay unbeaten on the early season, topping Saint Joseph's College, 10-9, in non-conference men's lacrosse action at Panther Field on Sunday afternoon.
PSU held a 4-2 lead at the half but used a 5-2 surge throughout the third quarter to take a 7-6 lead into the fourth.
Fay tied the game 4:02 into the final stanza to spark a game-winning four-goal streak as the Panthers went ahead 10-7 with just over eight minutes remaining. The Monks attempted to rally, pulling to within 10-9 with two minutes to play, but were unable to net the equalizer.
Plymouth State wins its home opener to improve to 3-0, while Saint Joseph's slides to 0-4 on the year.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 10, Saint Joseph's 9
- Plymouth State (3-0)
- Saint Joseph's (0-4)
How it Happened:
- The Monks opened the scoring 2:21 into the first quarter, but senior Jake Dolcimascolo (Georgetown, Mass.) answered with his seventh goal of the year midway through the frame the game remained tied into the second quarter.
- PSU looked to pull away in the second. Freshman Cam Jenkins (Shrewsbury, Mass.) gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead with his first collegiate goal just after a Plymouth State penalty expired.
- Fay made a difficult catch in front of the crease off a feed from Dolcimascolo and found the back of the cage as the shot clock was running down to make it a 3-1 game with 6:08 left in the second, then converted again just 46 seconds later as the lead grew to 4-1.
- Saint Joseph's cut into the margin with 3:25 left and the Panthers took a 4-2 lead into halftime.
- The teams traded goals to start the third quarter with Fay burying his third of the day to retain a two-goal margin, 5-3.
- The Monks ripped off three straight tallies to jump in front, but Fay answered with 2:01 left in the frame to tie the game at 6-6.
- Saint Joseph's used a long pass to set up a man-down goal in the final 30 seconds as the visitors carried a 7-6 lead into the fourth.
- Plymouth State used a four-goal run to seize control in the fourth quarter. Fay notched his fifth of the game, before freshman Brady Hunt (Billerica, Mass.) and Jenkins found the back of the cage just 24 seconds apart. Dolcimascolo capped the surge with 8:14 remaining to give PSU a 10-7 lead.
- The Monks pulled to within one, 10-9, with back-to-back goals and had a chance to pull even with possession in the offensive zone with 15 seconds to play. After a timeout, a costly turnover gave the ball back to the Panthers and the clock ran out on St. Joe's comeback attempt.
By the Numbers:
- Fay's five goals were a season high and the sixth time in his career he scored five or more times.
- Dolcimascolo scored twice and added a pair of assists for a four-point game. He's poured in a team-high 16 points through the first three games.
- Jenkins scored twice, while Hunt also had a multi-point game with a goal and an assist.
- Juniors Marc Hirshom (East Walpole, Mass.) and Liam Brown (Center Harbor, N.H.) and senior Nick Drew (Chelmsford, Mass.) also had assists for the Panthers.
- Sophomore Leif Charbonneau (Grafton, Mass.) was a beast in the faceoff circle, winning a career-high 19 of 23. He added a game-best 14 ground balls.
- Hirshom posted a game-high three caused turnovers, while junior Nolan Burke (Worcester, Mass.) chipped in four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
- Junior Owen McNichols (Manchester, N.H.) made six saves to pick up the win.
- Plymouth State held a 37-26 advantage in shots and went 16-of-19 in clear attempts. The Monks were 20-of-26 on clears.
- PSU scooped up 39 ground balls to St. Joe's 26. Plymouth State had 15 ground balls in the fourth quarter alone.
- The Panthers were 1-for-3 in man-up situations. Saint Joseph's went 0-for-1 but added a man-down goal.
- Plymouth State moves to 4-0 against the Monks. The game was the first meeting between the two teams since the 2014 season.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State remains at home for a pair of games this week. The Panthers welcome Lasell to town on Tuesday (Mar. 7) for a 4:00 p.m. game.
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