MIDDLETOWN, R.I. – Plymouth State University put together a furious late rally, cutting a seven-goal deficit down to one, before falling to Salve Regina University, 11-9, in the men's lacrosse season opener at Gaudet Field on Saturday morning.
The Seahawks scored all three goals in the second quarter to take a 6-3 lead into halftime, then extended the lead to 10-3 with six minutes left in the third.
Plymouth State rallied, scoring three straight goals to close the frame, before opening the fourth quarter with a 3-0 spurt to pull within one, 10-9, with just over four minutes remaining. That was as close as the Panthers would come, however, as the hosts tacked on an insurance goal with 20 seconds to play.
Plymouth State opens the year 0-1, while the Seahawks start 1-0.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 9, Salve Regina 11
- Plymouth State (0-1)
- Salve Regina (1-0)
How it Happened:
- Plymouth State struck first as junior Brady Hunt (Billerica, Mass.) gave the Panthers the lead at the 6:21 mark of the opening quarter.
- Sophomore Aiden Renner (Phillipsburg, N.J.) made it 2-0 with five minutes left, but the Seahawks struck back with three goals in a one-minute span.
- Hunt set up senior Ryan Collins (Attleboro, Mass.) in the final minute to tie the game at 3-3 after one.
- Salve Regina provided all the scoring in the second quarter to take a 6-3 advantage heading into halftime.
- The Seahawks continued to tack on with the first four tallies of the third quarter to push the margin to 10-3.
- Senior Ryan Jones (Tolland, Conn.) snapped the streak with a man-up goal to spark PSU's comeback bid. Hunt added his second of the day, and sophomore Kevin Cougler (Dover, N.H.) scored just before the clock expired as the Panthers pulled to within 10-6 heading to the fourth quarter.
- Plymouth State continued the momentum, with Collins scoring early. Senior Crosby Fay (Thornton, N.H.) brought the Panthers to within 10-8 with 6:35 left to play, and Jones' second of the day made it a one-goal game with 4:06 left on the clock.
- The Seahawks defense locked down from there, not allowing PSU to get a shot off before closing the game with an insurance goal in the closing seconds.
By the Numbers:
- Hunt and Collins finished with two goals and two assists apiece, while Jones also scored twice.
- Renner and Cougler each tallied a goal and an assist.
- Senior Ethan Schena (Methuen, Mass.) was impressive with 21 saves in the cage.
- Collins added a pair of caused turnovers, while senior Joey Loeber (Chelmsford, Mass.) scooped up four ground balls.
- Salve Regina held a narrow 40-36 advantage in shots.
- PSU went 1-for-3 in man-up situations, while the Seahawks were 3-for-5 with the extra man.
- Plymouth State was a perfect 13-for-13 in clears, but Salve Regina dominated the faceoffs by a 19-4 margin.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State heads to Rivier for a non-conference game next Saturday (Feb. 22).
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