Box Score BOX SCORE
When and Where: February 24, 2018 – Manchester, N.H. (Penmen Stadium
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 14, Georgian Court University 11
Records: SNHU 1-0, GCU 0-2
Seniors Devin Calkins (Bow, N.H.) and Corey Cairo (Shoreham, N.Y.) each registered hat tricks on Saturday to lead the 19th-ranked Southern New Hampshire University men's lacrosse team to a 14-11 victory over Georgian Court University in the first-ever game at Penmen Stadium.
Calkins led the Penmen offense with three goals and an assist, while Cairo tallied three goals in the triumph. Senior Zach Tanner (Woburn, Mass.) and junior Joseph Mayernik (Pearl River, N.Y.) chipped in with two goals and an assist apiece, as Southern New Hampshire christened its new state of the art facility with a win.
After Jeffrey Galatola staked the Lions to a 1-0 lead with a man-up marker at 8:23 of the opening stanza, junior Tom Schutz (Trumbull, Conn.) drew the hosts even a mere 13 seconds later. Schutz gathered the ball off a restart behind the Georgian Court cage, and after shaking a pair of defenders, he emerged from the right side of the goal and bounced a shot to the back of the net to send the teams to the second with the score knotted at one apiece.
Galatola struck again on an extra-man opportunity 16 seconds into the second quarter before Mayernik's first of the afternoon drew Southern New Hampshire even at 3:01. After Georgian Court pulled ahead again, the Penmen rattled off three straight goals and four of the next five in the frame to open a 6-4 lead. Freshman Cole Jacobsen (Dartmouth, Mass.) collected his first collegiate goal with just over 10 minutes left to play in the half before Cairo potted back-to-back markers at 7:28 and 8:10. Patrick Quinn stopped the SNHU run with 2:46 to go, but Calkins cashed in a feed from senior Mark Beirne (Hooksett, N.H.) off the ensuing faceoff to extend the advantage to a pair after 30 minutes of play.
Georgian Court came flying out of the intermission to the tune of a three-goal burst to reclaim the lead. Quinn and Peter Rinaldi were each set up by Tanner Lee, which knotted the score at six, before Galatola completed his own hat trick with 1:51 left in the third to make it 7-6 in favor of the Lions. The lead would be short-lived, however, as Calkins absorbed a vicious hit to deposit his second of the day less than 30 seconds later to reset the contest.
Tanner fired home a man-up goal in the closing seconds of the third to push the Penmen back in front, and his second goal in 20 seconds of game action gave SNHU a 9-7 edge with 14:51 left in regulation. After two-straight goals from GCU made it a nine-all affair with just over 10 minutes remaining, the back-and-forth contest waged on with another Southern New Hampshire three-goal run. Cairo started the spurt by capping his hat trick with help from Calkins before Mayernik tallied his second at 5:58. Calkins took a feed from senior Cam Rewucki (Dover, N.H.) and unloaded a bomb from deep that whistled through traffic and to the back of the cage with 8:21 to play, and staked the hosts to a 12-9 lead.
Georgian Court attempted to mount a late comeback, as it tacked on a pair of goals to slice its deficit to a single goal with 5:09 to go. It would be as close as the visitors would get, as senior Khyan Gaddy (Albany, N.Y.) weaved his way through the Lions' defense for his first of the year before Beirne bulldozed his way to his second of the contest to provide the final margin of victory.
Notes:
- Junior Andrew Liu (Piedmont, Calif.) dominated at the faceoff X Saturday, as he emerged victorious in 24 of the 25 draws he took.
- The Penmen outshot the Lions, 41-22, on the afternoon and scored four man-up goals compared to a pair from GCU.
- Senior Michael Brawley (Tewksbury, Mass.) earned the win for Southern New Hampshire after turning aside 11 shots.
What's Next:
The Penmen return to action on March 4 when they host Felician University at Penmen Stadium for a noon faceoff.
For the latest on Southern New Hampshire University athletics, follow the Penmen via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Instagram. Sign up to receive text message alerts and e-mail newsletters about your favorite Penmen teams here.
