PORTLAND, Maine - University of New England's junior midfielder Michael Woods (Kittery Point, ME) scored an unassisted goal just 19 seconds in overtime to lift the Nor'easters past Lasell College, 12-11, in a men's lacrosse mutual season-opener on Wednesday afternoon.
The Nor'easters kept the Lasers off the scoreboard through the first quarter, building up to an 8-1 lead through the majority of the second stanza. Lasell's junior midfielder Sean Speciale (Hillsborough, NJ) tallied Lasell's first goal with 5:03 elapsed in the second quarter, and struck again with 1:29 left in the same period to spark a three-goal rally by Lasell in the final minutes before the break. Sophomore attackman Zach Wielgoszinski (Amherst, NH) and freshman midfielder Andrew Puopolo (Duxbury, MA) led Lasell into the intermission with a goal apiece, cutting the Lasers' deficit to 8-4.
Junior midfielder Sam Wilcox (Norfolk, MA) would score the lone goal in third, connecting off a pass from Speciale, cutting the Nor'easters edge to three.
The Lasers outscored New England in the fourth, 6-3, including scoring five of the first six goals of the period, leading up to their first advantage at 10-9 with 3:52 remaining in regulation. Patrick Bresnahan (Manchester, NH) scored first, assisted by Chris Bulkley (Groton, CT), followed by two unassisted goals by Brian Yepez (Hillsoborough, NJ) and Puopolo. The game-tying goal was marked by Speciale, with 4:43 on the clock, and less than a minute later Bulkley struck for the go-ahead goal.
UNE's Tyler Thomas (Pleasantville, NY) evened the score nine seconds later, but Puopolo countered two minutes after to put Lasell on top once again with an unassisted score. The extra session was forced when New England's junior Steve Smith (Walpole, MA) knotted the score at 11-all from the stick of Dylan Thomas (Pleasantville, NY) with 1:03 remaining in regulation.
Woods took off from the initial face-off, rendering the sudden-death goal just 19 seconds into the overtime.
Tyler Thomas and Dylan Thomas tallied five points apiece for the hosts, and Woods recorded a game-best four goals in the Nor'easter victory. New England's goalkeeper Nate Porter (Cohasset, MA) made nine saves and earned his first win of the season.
Speciale, Puopolo, and Yepez each notched a team-best four points, with Speciale and Puopolo making three goals and dishing one assist each and Yepez scoring once and adding three assists. Bulkley registered three points, on one goal and two assists.
Junior Anthony Erz (Hampton, NJ) won 10-of-22 face-offs for the Lasers and junior goalkeeper Eric Walsh (Weymouth, MA) made nine saves in his season-debut in Lasell's net.
Lasell College (0-1) returns to action on Saturday, March 6th, playing host to Bate College at 1:00 p.m. on Grellier Field.