WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior
Crosby Fay (Waterville Valley, N.H.) posted a second straight four-goal game, but Plymouth State University dropped its first game of the season in a 13-8 setback at Clark University at Granger Field on Wednesday night.
A back-and-forth first half found the game knotted at 5-5 at halftime. The Cougars scored the first two goals of the third quarter, but Fay quickly answered to pull within 7-6. The hosts responded with a 3-0 spurt to take a 10-6 lead roughly six minutes into the fourth and Plymouth State was unable to get closer than three down the rest of the way.
Plymouth State suffers its first setback of the season to move to 5-1. The Panthers' 5-0 start had matched the program's best start since 1988. Clark improves to 3-4.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 8, Clark 13
- Plymouth State (5-1)
- Clark (3-4)
How it Happened:
- The Cougars got out to a 2-0 lead over the first seven minutes, but Fay buried back-to-back goals, including a man-up tally, to tie the game with five minutes left in the opening quarter.
- Clark went back in front, but junior Shea Clark (Woburn, Mass.) converted a feed from sophomore Brady Hunt (Billerica, Mass.) less than a minute later as the first quarter ended in a 3-3 tie.
- Senior Jack Bonazzoli (Clinton, Mass.) gave the Panthers their first lead just over a minute into the second quarter, but Clark answered back two minutes later.
- Senior Nolan Burke (Worcester, Mass.) restored the PSU advantage with 6:24 left before halftime, but again the hosts countered in the final minutes of the half as the game went into the half deadlocked at 5-5.
- The Cougars took the lead for good 1:23 into the third quarter and Clark extended the lead two minutes later.
- Fay buried his third of the night to pull within 7-6, but the hosts scored the next three goals to push the margin to 10-6 with just over nine minutes remaining.
- Freshman Ethan Hansen (Goffstown, N.H.) made it a three-goal game midway through the fourth, but Clark restored the four-goal margin with 5:27 to go.
- Fay responded just 12 seconds later, but that would prove to be the final marker for the Panthers as Clark tacked on a pair of insurance goals in the remaining three minutes to account for the final score.
By the Numbers:
- Fay posted four goals for the second straight contest and third time this season. He added two ground balls and two caused turnovers to his stat line.
- Hunt had a pair of assists.
- Senior Marc Hirshom (Walpole, Mass.) scooped up a game-high seven ground balls, while junior Joey Loeber (Chelmsford, Mass.) went for four ground balls and three caused turnovers.
- PSU forced the Clark goalkeeper to make 15 saves. Senior Owen McNichols (Manchester, N.H.) had eight stops for the Panthers.
- Plymouth State held a 23-21 edge in shots on goal.
- Clark finished 22-of-26 in clear attempts, while the Panthers were 19-of-25.
- The Cougars maintained a slight advantage (38-35) in ground balls.
- PSU went 1-for-3 on extra man opportunities, while Clark was held scoreless in its one chance.
- The teams had split the prior 12 matchups, though Clark has won each of the last five meetings.
Up Next:
- The Panthers host Wentworth in non-conference action on Saturday (Mar. 16) at 1:00 p.m.
– 30 –
