WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Senior
Owen McNichols (Manchester, N.H.) made a season-high 15 saves and junior
Ryan Collins (Attleboro, Mass.) scored three times to lift Plymouth State University to a 10-4 win over Eastern Connecticut State University in a Little East Conference (LEC) men's lacrosse game at Rick McCarthy Field on Friday afternoon.
The Panthers did all the scoring in the first half to build a 4-0 lead at the break. Eastern Connecticut cut into the margin early in the third quarter, but PSU answered with five straight tallies to extend the margin to 9-1.
Trailing 10-2 with five minutes to play, the Warriors attempted a late rally with a pair of goals, but McNichols made three saves down the stretch to thwart the comeback bid and help secure the Panthers' win.
Plymouth State improves to 7-4 (2-1 LEC), while the Warriors dip to 4-7 (1-2 LEC).
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 10, Eastern Connecticut 4
- Plymouth State (7-4, 2-1 LEC)
- Eastern Connecticut (4-7, 1-2 LEC)
How it Happened:
- Sophomore Brady Hunt (Billerica, Mass.) scored the lone goal of the first quarter just over five minutes into the game.
- The score remained 1-0 until late in the second quarter when the Panthers struck for a pair of quick strikes. Collins and sophomore Ethan Gerry (Atkinson, N.H.) both found the back of the cage less than a minute apart to push the lead to 3-0.
- Graduate student Alex Hawkom (Manchester, N.H.) extended the margin to 4-0 with a man-up goal with just 15 seconds left in the half.
- Eastern Connecticut regrouped during the intermission and notched the first goal of the third quarter to pull within 4-1.
- Freshman Aiden Renner (Phillipsburg, N.J.) answered right back for PSU to restore the four-goal lead with 11 minutes on the clock.
- Collins completed his hat trick with a pair of goals in the final few minutes of the quarter to extend the lead to 7-1.
- Senior Nolan Burke (Worcester, Mass.) and Hunt continued the scoring streak early in the fourth quarter as the advantage ballooned to 9-1 with just under ten minutes remaining.
- Eastern Connecticut attempted a late rally, scoring three of the final four goals, but McNichols and the PSU defense held strong to preserve the win.
By the Numbers:
- McNichols' 15 saves set a new season high, while his .789 save percentage was his best since posting an .833 save percentage in a win over the Warriors in last year's LEC Tournament.
- Collins finished with four points behind his three goals and an assist. He added three ground balls to his stat line.
- Hunt posted three assists to go with his two goals for a game-high five points, while also contributing three ground balls.
- Gerry scored twice, while Burke also recorded a multi-point game with a goal and an assist.
- Senior Marc Hirshom (Walpole, Mass.) controlled the defense with team highs of five ground balls and three caused turnovers.
- Plymouth State held a 22-19 edge in shots on goal and a 42-27 advantage in total shots.
- ECSU narrowly won the ground ball battle by a 37-35 margin.
- Both teams were efficient in clear attempts. PSU finished 27-of-29, while the Warriors were 26-for-28.
- The Panthers have won four of the last five meetings.
Up Next:
- PSU visits VTSU Castleton for another league game on Tuesday (Apr. 9).
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