Box Score 
MANCHESTER, N.H.—Keith Merluzzo (Billerica, Mass.) tallied six goals and an assist to lead the Southern New Hampshire University men's lacrosse team to a 19-3 win against Thomas College in non-conference action at Larkin Field on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Penmen improve to 1-2 on the season, while the loss drops the Terriers to 0-2.
Merluzzo's first goal of the game, which was scored 34 seconds into the period, marked the 100th point of his career at SNHU.
The Penmen would round out the first quarter with a 4-1 lead and a 7-4 shot advantage. The Penmen would hold the Terriers to no shots in the second quarter and would carry an 11-1 lead into the second half.
In addition to Merluzzo's six goals, Greg Reynolds (Scituate, Mass.) and Andrew Brown (Marshfield, Mass.) each added three goals apiece. Reynolds added two assists, while Brown dished out one. James Sabino (Danvers, Mass.) rounded out the day with two goals and an assist, while Will Vallette (Topsfield, Mass.), Joe Daly (Woburn, Mass.), Mike Balaschi (Kingston, Mass.), Gary McKay (Billerica, Mass.) and Chris Benoit (Hingham, Mass.) all added goals. McKay won seven of the 12 face offs he took, finishing the afternoon with a win percentage of .583.
For Thomas, Kevin Averill (New Sharon, Maine), Matt Quesada (Coram, N.Y.) and Bradley Stiles (Westbrook, Maine) tallied goals. Scott Dumas (Topsham, Maine) picked up a game-high nine ground balls and won seven faceoffs.
Eric Gunst (Exeter, N.H.) earned the win in goal for the Penmen, posting three saves in one half of work before giving way to Brendan O'Brien (Hopkinton, Mass.), who posted four saves in 17:30 of work. Morgan Weireter (Oak Park, Calif.) and Alex Tonole (Hull, Mass.) also saw minutes in net for the Penmen today. Jesse Morkeski took the loss in net for the Terriers and recorded 21 saves, as the Penmen outshot the Terriers 67-14 on the afternoon.
Southern New Hampshire returns to action on Thursday, March 17 as it travels to Merrimack College for a 4:00 p.m. start. The Terriers return to action on Tuesday, March 15, facing McDonald College at 3:30 p.m. at Babson College.
