BOX SCORE

COLCHESTER, Vt. - Brothers Mike and Sean Ball (Salem, NH) combined for seven goals to lead Southern New Hampshire University to a 12-8 Northeast-10 men's lacrosse win over Saint Michael's College Wednesday afternoon.  The Penmen earned their first win of the season as it is now 1-6 overall and 1-2 in the NE-10.  The Purple Knights are now 3-5 and 1-3 in the league.

Mike Ball recorded a game-high four goals and added two assists, while Sean Ball chipped in with three goals and two helpers. Sophomore Keith Merluzzo (Billerica, MA) notched two goals and a game-high three assists, while classmate Marc Novaco (Chelmsford, MA) added two goals and an assist. Senior Dustin Latham (Penacook, NH) also scored for the Penmen, while freshman Brendan O'Brien (Hopkinton, MA) stopped 20 shots to win his first collegiate decision.

Charles Seelinger led Saint Michael's with three goals while Bryan Zaremba totaled a goal and an assist for the Purple Knights.

Saint Michael's led early, 2-1, on a pair of scores by Seelinger. The Penmen, however, scored the last two goals of the opening period to take the lead for good after one quarter, 3-2, and netted four of the first five goals of the second period to stretch their lead to 7-3. The Purple Knights cut their deficit to 7-5 at halftime, but three unanswered goals by SNHU to start the second half - two by Sean Ball, and one by Mike Ball - gave the visitors a game-high five goal advantage, 10-5, and the Purple Knights pulled no closer than three goals after that.

SNHU sophomore Gary McKay (Billerica, MA), who took all 24 faceoffs in the contest, won 17 to aid the Penmen's attack. Saint Michael's held a 22-12 advantage in ground balls, and a 46-30 edge in shots.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Saturday when it travels to Bentley University for a 1:00 contest.

Release Courtesy Saint Michael's Sports Information