MARINERS SINK PRIDE WITH BIG FOURTH QUARTER

WESTON, Mass. – Tied 6-6 after the third quarter, Mitchell College scored eight times in the final quarter en route to a 14-6 victory over Regis College on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's lacrosse action. Regis falls to 2-5 overall on the season and 0-2 in the NECC while Mitchell improves to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in the league.

Mitchell's Shane Sullivan (Quaker Hill, Conn.) opened the scoring for the Mariners in the first quarter as he used a nifty pass fake to throw off his defender and then beat the Regis keeper 1-on-1 to give Mitchell an early 1-0 lead. Demetre Lyras (Rocky Point, N.Y.) added a goal 1:47 later as he ripped a shot top shelf to put Mitchell on top by two. Shane Sullivan rounded out the scoring for Mitchell in the period as he corralled a tipped pass by Regis' Morgan Ford (Smyrna, Ga.) and beat his defender down the right side for an open shot that gave the Mariners a 3-0 lead after one quarter of play.

The Pride responded with a pair of man-up goals in the second quarter to make it a one goal game headed into the break. Peter Leighton (Wilmington, Mass.) found a cutting Chris Campbell (South Hadley, Mass.) through the middle of the defense and the junior buried the shot for the Pride's first tally. Nicky Rodrigo (Miami, Fla.) scored the second goal of the period when he took a skip pass from Andrew O'Reilly (Hollis, N.H.) and blasted a shot top shelf to make it a 3-2 game.

Mitchell's Jordan Cook (Groton, Conn.) scored the first goal of the second half with a snipe shot from 10 yards out to put Mitchell back on top by two goals. Later in the period, Stephan Bottex (Norwood, Mass.) streaked down the field on a clear attempt that lead to a fastbreak chance for the Pride. Bottex found Rodrigo with a lead pass and the rookie found Peter Leighton in front of an open net to make it a 4-3 game. On the next Regis possession, Leighton hit Campbell with a quick pass and the junior buried a shot from 20 yards out to knot the game at 4-4.

Nicky Rodrigo capped off a 3-0 run for the Pride and gave Regis its first lead of the day as he took a pass from Billy Stewart (West Roxbury, Mass.) on the fastbreak and hit a low shot to make it a 5-4 game. Mitchell's Sullivan answered on the other end with his third goal of the day on a pass from Aaron Sladyk (South Windsor, Conn.) to tie the score at 5-5. Leighton and Campbell hooked up for another goal as Campbell jumped through the air to receive a high pass from Leighton and all in one motion buried the go-ahead goal for the Pride. Sullivan and Sladyk combined for another goal nearly 30 seconds later to tie it at 6-6 headed into the fourth quarter.

The final period was all Mitchell as the Mariners scored a mere 56 seconds into the final frame on a tally by David Klapp (Greenfield, N.Y.). The Mariners would add on seven more goals in the quarter including goals from Chris Joy (East Lyme, Conn.) and Aaron Sladyk, while Demetre Lyras would add three scores. Sullivan and Klapp rounded out the scoring for Mitchell.

Mitchell outshot the Pride at a 44-28 clip and also won the groundball battle 26-23. Both teams were effective on clear attempts as Regis went 16-for-20 and the Mariners went 17-for-19. Mitchell won 12 of the 23 faceoffs on the day as well.

Chris Campbell led the Pride attack with three goals, while Nicky Rodrigo added two scores and an assist for a three-point day. Peter Leighton scored a goal and handed out three assists on the day. Andrew Goldberg (Solebury, Pa.) scooped up a team-high five groundballs, with Rodrigo and O'Reilly adding three groundballs each. Stephan Bottex and Dan Hammond (Mansfield, Mass.) had three caused-turnovers apiece.

Mitchell was led by an eight point day from Shane Sullivan, who had five goals and three assists. Demetre Lyras added four goals and David Klapp had a pair of goals to go with an assist. Chris Joyn grabbed a team-high five groundballs, with Lyras adding four of his own. Joy also led the Mariners defense with a game-high four caused-turnovers.

Morgan Ford suffered the setback in net for the Pride, making 11 saves on the day. Peter Eshenfelder (Quaker Hill, Conn.) picked up his fifth win of the season by making 11 saves as well.

The Pride will try and snap a three-game skid with a NECC matchup against Daniel Webster next Thursday. The Mariners will try and make it three-straight wins when they take on SUNY Cobleskill on Wednesday night in New London, Conn.