Box Score MANSFIELD, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University men's lacrosse team scored six straight goals in ten minutes to snap an early tie and went on to a 16-7 non-conference victory over New England College Monday afternoon at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.
The win is the second for Eastern (2-2) after two opening losses as the Warriors down New England (0-4) in their home-opener. The Pilgrims were playing their fourth straight road game.
In their second win over NEC in this two-game series, the Warriors outshot the visitors 53-36, won 15 of 25 faceoffs and had nearly twice as many ground balls as the Pilgrims.
In a 6-0 run which turned a tie into a 7-1 lead three minutes into the second quarter, senior midfielder Steven Nixon (Foxborough, MA) and senior attack Chris Barnett (Wilton) each scored twice and senior midfielder Matthew Garcia (Somers) contributed two assists.
Sophomore midfielder Jesse Schulze (Croton-on-Hudson, NY) won 12 of 16 faceoffs for Eastern and junior goalie Blake Smaldone (Hamilton, MA) – the first of three goalies -- made four saves in the first half for his second win in three decisions. Freshman goalie Chris Gorman (Shewsbury, MA) made three saves in his collegiate debut.
Led by Barnett (four points), 12 different players contributed to the Eastern offense. Nixon, Garcia, senior attack Zach Thresher (Somers) and junior attack Tim Reilly (Hanover, MA) all had three points. Schulze picked up seven ground balls, sophomore attack Shawn Tierney (Norwell, MA) five.
For Eastern, freshmen Matthew Rougeot (Cheshire) and Harrison Urda (Milford, NH) recorded their first collegiate points. Rougeot had a goal and helper and Urda a goal.
Junior attack Skyler Saunders was the only New England player with more than one goal. He led the Pilgrims with two goals and two assists and freshman attack Matt Richard (Weare, NH) had a goal and two assists.
Eastern visits Farmingdale State College Saturday at 1 p.m.
