Box Score BOX SCORE
When and Where: April 26, 2016 – Manchester, N.H. (Larkin Field)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 15, Post University 12
Records: SNHU 9-4, Post 6-8
Senior Cameron Joyce (Braintree, Mass.) registered a game-high eight points to lead Southern New Hampshire University to a 15-12 victory over Post University in non-conference men's lacrosse action at Larkin Field on Tuesday night.
The win is the Penmen's ninth of 2016, which is the most in a single season in the history of Southern New Hampshire men's lacrosse.
Joyce scored five goals and assisted on three others on a night where the Penmen celebrated the careers of their four graduating seniors. Classmate Eric Johnson (West Suffield, Conn.) handed out a pair of helpers, while fellow senior Adam Tanner (Woburn, Mass.) notched the first point of his career with an assist. The fourth member of the class of 2016, Ryan Pacheco (Manchester, N.H.), went 7-for-12 at the faceoff X and picked up a groundball to help Southern New Hampshire extend its winning streak to eight consecutive games.
The Eagles came out of the gate strong and built a 2-0 lead within the first 6:22 of play. Patrick Egan staked the visitors to a 1-0 lead at 2:56 before Paul Hylan doubled the advantage with 8:38 left in the quarter.
The tides would quickly turn, however, as the Penmen struck for four-straight scores to take a two-goal advantage of their own. Junior Cameron McGuire (Melrose, Mass.) opened the scoring for Southern New Hampshire with his 14th goal of the year at the eight-minute mark before classmate Keifer Heckman (Peabody, Mass.) knotted the score off a feed from Joyce at 7:52. Sophomore Devin Calkins (Bow, N.H.) gave the hosts the lead for good on his 11th of the season with 5:40 remaining, and McGuire added his second of the stanza 17 seconds later to make it 4-2.
After Post trimmed the SNHU lead back to a single goal, Tanner set up sophomore Cam Rewucki (Dover, N.H.) for his fourth. Junior Will Thompson (Southington, Conn.) started the play by collecting a loose ball in front of the Penmen goal and sending a ground ball pass over to Tanner near midfield. Tanner scooped the ball and took off into the offensive end before he found Rewucki, who then fired a low shot to the back of the net to give Southern New Hampshire a 5-3 edge after one.
The Eagles again made it a one-goal game early in the second quarter but it would be as close as they would come for the remainder of the evening, as the Penmen responded with a three-goal run to take an 8-4 advantage. Heckman tallied his second of the night at 7:39 before sophomore Dan Malave (Wading River, N.Y.) netted his 12th with 6:29 to play in the half. Joyce completed the stretch 2:29 later when he juked out a defender and skipped a shot past the Post goalkeeper for his first of the game and 43rd of the season. Back-to-back markers by the Eagles cut the lead to a pair at 8-6 with 21 seconds left in the second, but Joyce found Heckman off a restart, and he completed his hat trick with a rocket from deep that rippled the mesh with no time left on the clock.
Joyce took over in the third quarter with three goals in the first 11 minutes to give Southern New Hampshire a 12-8 edge. After Hylan collected his second of the contest to make it 12-9, a brilliant individual effort on the man-down by Thompson reestablished the four-goal cushion. Thompson, a long-stick defenseman, caught a pass near midfield and maneuvered around a pair of Post defenders before bolting straight down the alley and unloading a close range shot to the top corner with 1:28 left in the third.
The two teams exchanged goals in the fourth, with Malave and Joyce etching their names on the scoresheet for Southern New Hampshire, to build the score out to 15-11. The Eagles nabbed the game's final score with 2:22 left in regulation, and the Penmen ran out the clock from there to earn the 15-12 win.
Junior Tyler Walsh (Northampton, Mass.) remained perfect between the pipes for Southern New Hampshire with a 16-save effort to improve his record to 8-0. Heckman finished with three goals and an assist, while Malave and Johnson each added a pair of points in the triumph.
Trevor Buchas led the Post offense with three goals and two helpers for five points, and Colby Treat and Luke McDermott both potted a goal and handed out two helpers in the setback. Rob Rohan was saddled with the loss for the Eagles despite making 14 saves.
Notes:
- Tuesday's victory gave the Penmen their first nine-win season, and pushed them past the 1979 and 1990 teams that each won eight games.
- With Bentley University's loss to Merrimack College on April 23, Southern New Hampshire has secured the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference Championship. The Penmen will host a home playoff game for the first time in school history on Tuesday, May 3 at 7 p.m.
- Joyce extended his point scoring streak to 31 straight games dating back to the 2014 season and registered multiple points for the 19th consecutive contest. He now has 198 career points and need just two points in the regular season finale against Assumption College to become the third Southern New Hampshire men's lacrosse player to reach the 200-point plateau.
What's Next:
The Penmen close out their regular season on Saturday (April 30) when they head to Assumption College for a 7 p.m. faceoff against the Greyhounds.
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