BOX SCORE

MANCHESTER, N.H. - A goal by James Hammel with 48 seconds left to play lifted Pace University to a 13-12 Northeast-10 men's lacrosse victory over Southern New Hampshire University Saturday afternoon at Larkin Field.  The Setters improve to 2-3 and 1-0 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are now 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the league.

Jake Sheppard led Pace with four goals and an assist, while Joe Page recorded two goals and two assists.  Hammel, Joe Arlotta and Michael Mezzo each scored twice, while Joseph Clark totaled a goal and an assist.  Dustin Latham (Penacook, NH) scored a career-high four goals to lead Southern New Hampshire, while Mike Ball (Salem, NH) totaled three goals and an assist.  Terrence Nash (Oceanside, NY) finished with two goals and two assists for the Penmen, while Sean Ball (Salem, NH) scored twice.  Keith Merluzzo (Billerica, MA) added a goal and an assist.

Southern New Hampshire, which trailed by as many as three, tied the game with 2:08 left when Mike Ball scored on a low liner.  The Penmen controlled the faceoff but would turn it over.  An initial shot by Pace's T.J. Urban was stopped by SNHU goalie Eric Gunst (Exeter, NH), but, following a restart, Hammel fired a shot from Gunst's right for the eventual game-winner.  The Penmen again controlled the faceoff, but turned it over.  SNHU had one final chance with two seconds left, but a shot from Sean Ball was high.

The Penmen trailed 10-7 with 6:11 to go in the third following a goal by Mezzo, but would score three times in the final 4:57, including two goals in the final minute 15 seconds apart, and tie the score 10-10 with 34 seconds left on a goal by Latham.  Latham would strike again 1:06 into the fourth quarter to give SNHU its first lead of the second half.  The Setters would retake the lead by scoring the last two goals, with Arlotta scoring with 8:48 on the clock to give Pace a 12-11 lead.

SNHU led 3-2 after one quarter, but the Setters would score the first three goals of the second to take a 5-3 lead with 6:10 left before halftime on a Sheppard goal.  Merluzzo would score at the 2:59 mark to cut it to 5-4, but Arlotta scored 1:03 before halftime to give the Setters a 6-4 lead at the break.

Timothy Matheis turned aside 14 shots in goal for Pace, while Gunst made eight saves for Southern New Hampshire.  The Setters held a 43-35 shot advantage.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Wednesday when it faces Seton Hill University in a neutral-site game at Plymouth-Whitemarsh (PA) High School.  Game time is scheduled for 1:00.