BOSTON, Mass. – Senior
Owen McNichols (Manchester, N.H.) made a dozen saves, but the University of Massachusetts Boston held off Plymouth State University, 11-9, in a Little East Conference (LEC) men's lacrosse game at James Cotter Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Beacons raced out to a 4-0 lead but PSU battled back with a 6-1 run to jump in front, 6-5, with just over four minutes left in the opening half. The hosts closed the second quarter with back-to-back goals to carry a 7-6 lead into the break.
UMass Boston extended the margin to 10-7 late in the third. Sophomore
Cam Jenkins (Shrewsbury, Mass.) brought the Panthers to within 10-8, but the Beacons restored the three-goal advantage just over a minute later.
Sophomore
Brady Hunt (Billerica, Mass.) notched his second goal of the afternoon to cut the deficit to 11-9, but that would prove to be the final goal of the day as UMass Boston held on for the win.
Plymouth State moves to 6-4 (1-1 LEC), while the Beacons improve to 8-2 (1-0 LEC).
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 9, UMass Boston 11
- Plymouth State (6-4, 1-1 LEC)
- UMass Boston (8-2, 1-0 LEC)
How it Happened:
- The hosts scored four times in a 1:44-span midway through the opening quarter.
- Hunt sparked a PSU rally with his first of the day with four minutes to go and junior Ryan Collins (Attleboro, Mass.) scored with a minute left in the first to make it 4-2 after one.
- Collins converted early in the second to cut the deficit to one, but the Beacons answered right back.
- Junior Matt Miner (Chelmsford, Mass.) restored the Panthers' momentum 22 seconds later and freshman Aiden Renner (Phillipsburg, N.J.) won the ensuing faceoff and raced down the field to tie the game at 5-5 to force a UMB timeout.
- Junior Ryan Jones (Tolland, Conn.) gave Plymouth State the lead with less than five minutes before the half, but the Beacons answered with back-to-back scores to carry a slight 7-6 advantage into the break.
- The teams traded goals to start the third, with senior Crosby Fay (Waterville Valley, N.H.) scoring for the Panthers, until back-to-back Beacons' tallied made it 10-7.
- PSU attempted to rally, with Jenkins making it a two-score game with 5:31 left in the third, but UMB would answer to make it 11-8 heading to the fourth quarter.
- Hunt would notch the final stanza's lone goal to account for the final score.
By the Numbers:
- Renner finished with a goal and two assists and added eight ground balls. He won 11-of-16 faceoffs.
- Hunt and Collins each scored twice, while Miner added a multi-point game with a goal and an assist.
- Jenkins snagged six ground balls, while senior Marc Hirshom (Walpole, Mass.) chipped in three ground balls and three caused turnovers.
- McNichols continued his strong play with 12 saves. He's reached double digits in seven of the team's ten games.
- Plymouth State held a 44-31 advantage in shots.
- PSU went 18-for-21 on clear attempts, while the Beacons were 25-for-28.
- The Panthers won the ground ball battle, 33-28, and won 15-of-24 faceoffs.
- PSU leads the all-time series, 23-21, but the Beacons have won the last six meetings. UMass Boston held off the Panthers, 14-11, in the semifinals of last year's LEC Tournament.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State heads to Eastern Connecticut State next Friday (Apr. 5) for a 3:00 p.m. LEC clash with the Warriors.
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