Box Score BOX SCORE
When and Where: March 28, 2017 – Waltham, Mass. (Bentley University Turf Field)
Score: No. 16 Southern New Hampshire University 12, Bentley University 11
Records: SNHU 4-2 (2-2 Northeast-10 Conference), Bentley 3-2 (2-1 Northeast-10 Conference)
Buoyed by nine different goal scorers and two goalkeepers, No. 16 Southern New Hampshire University outlasted Bentley University, 12-11, in Northeast-10 Conference men's lacrosse action at the Bentley University Turf Field on Tuesday evening.
In a game that featured four lead changes and seven ties, the Penmen scored six of their 12 goals in the fourth quarter to overcome a 7-6 deficit, and withstood a late Falcons' rally to earn their second consecutive NE10 victory.
After Bentley's Nigel Reiff broke a six-all tie with 28 seconds remaining in the third quarter, junior Khyan Gaddy (Albany, N.Y.) buried a man-down marker off a feed from senior Daniel Trainor (Billerica, Mass.) 1:42 into the fourth to knot the score at seven. The Falcons responded just 24 seconds later with an extra-man goal to regain the lead before adding their second score of the quarter at 3:49 to establish their largest lead at 9-7.
Over the ensuing six minutes of play, Southern New Hampshire went on a five-goal run to turn the 9-7 deficit into a 12-9 advantage. Senior Zach Jacobs (Tewksbury, Mass.) started the barrage with his second of the game with 9:59 left in regulation to cut the Bentley edge back to a single goal. After junior Chris West (Albany, N.Y.) brought the Penmen even with his third of the season at 6:33, it took classmate Corey Cairo (Wading River, N.Y.) a mere 13 seconds to put the Penmen on top for the first time since the midway point of the third quarter. Junior Dan Malave (Wading River, N.Y.) registered his second goal of the year with 7:13 to play extend the SNHU lead to a pair before Cairo set up sophomore Joseph Mayernik (Pearl River, N.Y.) for his fourth to cap the SNHU scoring.
The game was far from over, however, as Bentley bounced back with a pair of goals in the final three-plus minutes. Alex Astarita collected his second of the night with help from Chris Wiggins at 11:47 left before Wiggins netted his second goal of the contest with 1:17 left to make it 12-11. Junior Michael Brawley (Tewksbury, Mass.) stopped a Matt Sanford attempt with 46 seconds to go to maintain the Penmen lead before the Falcons' final two shots, including one by Astarita at the buzzer, went wide of the cage.
Bentley jumped out to an early 1-0 lead off a Wiggins tally 1:02 into the first. Junior Zach Tanner (Woburn, Mass.) fed senior Cameron McGuire (Melrose, Mass.) for the equalizer on the man advantage at 5:25 before Elijah Morrissey put the hosts back in front 12 seconds later, 2-1. Senior Keifer Heckman (Peabody, Mass.) reset the game with 1:50 left in the first on his 12th of the season, but Sam Hurley struck with under a minute to play, and the Falcons carried a 3-2 lead into the intermission.
The Penmen defense clamped down in the second stanza and held Bentley scoreless, while the offense went to work scoring three times. Junior Devin Calkins (Bow, N.H.) tucked home the equalizer 2:23 into the quarter, and after Heckman registered his second with just over 10 minutes to go before the half, Jacobs finished the half with his first of the night at 12:20 to send the teams to the break with SNHU in front, 5-3.
Bentley came out strong in the second half to the tune of four third quarter goals. Hurley completed his hat trick and tied the game with tallies at 1:45 and 6:44 of the third before Mayernik put the Penmen back on top with 7:25 left. Wiggins, who set up Hurley's second of the frame, fed John Wheeler at 12:48 to make it 6-6.
Heckman led the Southern New Hampshire offense with two goals and an assist, while Mayernik and Jacobs each scored twice. Cairo had a goal and a helper, and seven different Penmen tallied one point. Senior Tyler Walsh (Northampton, Mass.) stopped five of the 10 shots he faced in the opening 35:49 before Brawley steered aside six of the 13 he saw in the final 24:11.
Notes:
- After dropping the first 22 all-time meetings against Bentley, Southern New Hampshire has now won three of its last five matchups with the Falcons. The Penmen have also won 10 of their last 11 games against unranked opponents dating back to the 2015 season.
- Southern New Hampshire held Bentley to a 2-for-12 performance on the man advantage, while the Penmen were 1-for-6 on the man up and added a man-down goal.
- The Falcons outshot SNHU, 50-34, and held a 23-20 edge in shots on goal. Bentley also maintained a slight advantage in groundballs (31-22) and faceoff wins (17-9).
- Trainor has tallied at least one point in 21 of his last 22 appearances, which is a span that dates back to the 2015 season. 17 of those 21 games have been multipoint efforts.
- With three points on Tuesday, Heckman stands alone at No. 20 on the Penmen men's lacrosse all-time scoring list with 112 career points. Heckman has one or more points in 33 of his last 36 outings, and of those 33 games, he has at least two points in 29 contests.
What's Next:
Southern New Hampshire resumes NE10 play on Saturday (April 1) when it makes the trip to Albany, New York for a 1 p.m. faceoff against the College of Saint Rose.
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