BOX SCORE

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Fifth-ranked Bentley University outscored Southern New Hampshire University 5-2 in the fourth quarter en route to a 14-10 Northeast-10 men's lacrosse victory Tuesday night at Larkin Field.  The Falcons improve to 4-1 and 3-0 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are now 3-5 and 1-3 in the league.

Wyatt Couture led Bentley with three goals and an assist, while James Reardon and Addi Van Hatcher added three goals apiece for the Falcons.  Kevin Gould totaled a goal and three assists, while Brendan Grant and Steve Murray each added a goal and an assist.

Keith Merluzzo (Billerica, Mass.) led Southern New Hampshire with three goals and a pair of assists, while Andrew Brown (Marshfield, Mass.) added three goals and an assist.  Greg Reynolds (Scituate, Mass.) registered two goals and three assists, while Marc Novaco (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Matt Langill (Billerica, Mass.) each added single tallies.

SNHU, which had trailed by no more than two goals most of the game, tied the game 8-8 with 5:59 left in the third quarter on a Reynolds goal.  The Falcons would reclaim the lead 14 seconds later on a Reardon tally, a score that sparked a string of six straight Bentley goals.  The guests would score the first five goals of the fourth, including three goals in the frame's first 2:42, and a Reardon man-advantage goal with 6:52 left made it 14-8 in favor of the Falcons.

The Penmen would get late goals from Merluzzo and Brown to make it 14-10 with just over two minutes left, but would get no closer.

Novaco opened the game's scoring 6:59 into the first quarter and the Penmen held a 3-1 lead with 57 seconds left in the period when Merluzzo converted a feed from Brown.  Couture would make it 3-2 with 12 seconds to go in the first.

Bentley took its first lead of the game with 11:29 to go in the first half on another Couture tally.  The Falcons would open a 6-4 lead 2:38 before intermission on a Matt Boilard goal, but Reynolds scored with 43 seconds left on the clock to make it 6-5 at halftime.

The two teams traded the first four goals of the third quarter before SNHU used a two-goal spurt to tie the game 8-8.  Brown would score at the 8:27 mark to make it 8-7 before Reynolds scored off a feed from Peter Vacca (Billerica, Mass.) at the 5:59 mark to tie the game.

Andy Collette made 14 saves for Bentley as the Falcons outshot the Penmen 44-33, including a 25-14 advantage in the second half.  Eric Gunst (Exeter, N.H.) turned aside 14 shots for Southern New Hampshire.

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