NEWTON, MA- Plymouth State University walked away with a 12-6 win over Lasell College in men's lacrosse play at Grellier Field on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers were paced by freshman attack Zach Frank (Wakefield, MA) who scored four goals, including the first of the season for the Panthers and the game-winning tally.
The Plymouth offense built up a 3-0 lead through the first quarter, wasting no time taking control of the scoreboard with a Frank mark notched in the 3rd minute. Shawn McEvoy (Spring, TX) followed and Ty Long (Dover, NH) capped scoring in the half. Drew Kirwin (Bow, NH) assisted on two of the visitors three scores in the period.
Kirwin kicked off scoring in the second quarter with an unassisted tally to pull the Panthers even further ahead less than a minute into the frame. Within the following minute, Lasell broke the scoreless barrier when Dylan Fernandes (Billerica, MA) cut across the crease to finish with a hard bouncer past Plymouth net minder Kevin Hayes (Beverly, MA). Plymouth's Andrew Eriksen (Beverly, MA), however, countered Fernandes attack with a goal of his own, 30 seconds later.
In the 10th minute, Plymouth scored twice in a 43 second span to take a 7-1 lead into halftime. Long struck again, dodging through Lasell's defense to shoot left-handed on the wing and Frank followed with the game-winner.
Plymouth was successful in not only keeping Lasell's scoring at bay in the half but also in winning 100% (10-10) of the faceoffs in the two quarters. Hayes made seven stops in the first half, while Lasell goalie Eric Walsh (Weymouth, MA) made 11 saves.
Upon returning to action, both teams went without scoring through 13:53 at which point Lasell's extra-man unit effectively capitalized on a man-up scoring opportunity. Sean Speciale (Hillsborough, NJ) netted the goal with help from Nick Sampson (Londonderry, NH) on the perimeter. The third quarter closed with Plymouth up 7-2.
Between 4:17 and 7:13 in the final period, Plymouth took off on a 5-0 run to complete their scoring. Lasell lit up in the final two minutes, scoring four straight tallies to end the game. Jake LaMorte (Walpole, MA) began the streak curling around the net to score with 1:38 left to play and Fernandes recorded his second score of the day firing off a low shot from distance just 15 seconds later. Lasell's final two marks were scored, unassisted, in a nine second span by Chris Bulkley (Groton, CT) and LaMorte to conclude the game.
Lasell was outdone by Plymouth in shot attempts (38-33), ground balls (44-31), and faceoffs (16-7). Lasell did hold the edge in clears, going 20-23 in the game, while Plymouth went 16-22. Lasell's defense also kept the visitors from scoring on any extra-man opportunities (0-3). The Lasers were prosperous on one-of-six man-up attempts.
Frank, Kirwin, and Teddy Akrivlellis (Dover, MA) all finished with a game-best four points. Long, Eriksen, and McEvoy each finished with two points in the contest. Hayes made a total of 16 saves in his season debut in the cage.
Fernandes and LaMorte each recorded two points for Lasell and Walsh turned aside 15 saves in the setback.
Plymouth (1-0) faces their next eight games on the road, beginning with a jaunt to Colby College on March 17th at 4:00 p.m. Lasell (1-2) remains on their home turf when they host 2010 NCAA Division III national champion Tufts University on Tuesday, March 15th at 3:30 p.m.