Plymouth, NH-- Lasell College men's lacrosse battled back from a 4-1 halftime deficit to force overtime with two unanswered goals in the third quarter and the only score of the fourth period, before enduring a 5-4 overtime loss to Plymouth State University. The Lasers knotted the score at 4-4 with 3:06 remaining in regulation on an extra-man goal by sophomore Jon Elia (East Lyme, Conn.) The overtime loss dropped Lasell to 2-9 overall.
Plymouth junior Andrew Eriksen (Beverly, MA) scored his second goal of the game just 51 seconds into the sudden death overtime to break up a four-game losing streak for the Panthers. Plymouth State is now 3-6 overall this season.
Lasell fell into an early 3-0 deficit through twenty minutes of play before freshman Andy Puopolo (Duxbury, MA) snapped the shutout with a goal at 10:38, unassisted. Panther senior Brett Zebrowski (Bayville, NY) notched his first goal of the year with 43 seconds on the clock before the half, giving Plymouth a 4-1 halftime lead.
The Lasers defense was tight in the third quarter, keeping Plymouth off the scoreboard as Sam Wilcox (Norfolk, MA) did work on the offensive end with the only two tallies of the period. Elia scored, man-up, in the final period with 3:06 on the clock, off the stick of Sean Speciale (Hillsborough, NJ). Elia’s goal forced the extra stanza, sudden death overtime.
Eriksen collected the ball at the top of the possession box early in the extra session and ran down the right wing before bouncing in the game-winner, just inside the right goal post.
Lasell’s junior goalkeeper Eric Walsh (Weymouth, MA) made 11 saves in the overtime loss, including seven in the second half shutout. Plymouth State’s Kevin Hayes (Beverly, MA) picked up the win, turning away eight Laser chances.
Senior defender Matt Haversat (Monroe, CT) collected five ground balls and junior face-off man Anthony Erz (Hampton, NJ) won 7-of-12 opportunities for the Lasers.
Lasell returns to Pilgrim League play on Saturday, April 17th when they face MIT at Grellier Field at 1:00 p.m.