BIG SECOND QUARTER FUELS PRIDE WIN

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College scored five goals in the second quarter to propel the Pride to a 9-4 victory over Anna Maria College in non-conference men's lacrosse action on a rainy and cold Wednesday night in Weston, Mass. The Pride push their record back to .500 at 2-2 overall, while Anna Maria drops to 0-4 this season.

Nicky Rodrigo (Miami, Fla.) scored four goals to lead the Pride and Billy Stewart (West Roxbury, Mass.) added a pair of goals and two assists in the win. Breandan Crane (Billerica, Mass.) was strong in net for Regis as the senior made 14 saves and added five groundballs in his second win of the year.

The Pride took an early 1-0 lead as Regis capitalized on the man-advantage when Peter Leighton (Wilmington, Mass.) found Andrew O'Reilly (Hollis, N.H.) at the top of the box and the sophomore blasted a shot to the bottom corner for the game's first goal. Anna Maria answered at the 4:24 mark of the opening quarter as Rodrigo Henriques (Saugus, Mass.) spun off his defender and potted a low goal to tie the score at 1-1.

The score remained tied 1-1 headed into the second quarter before Stewart found Rodrigo from the behind the net to give the Pride a 2-1 lead. Rodrigo returned the favor nearly five minutes later when the Pride scored their second man-advantage goal of the day to make it a two goal game. Senior Matt Vogan (Billerica, Mass.) entered the scoring column at the 4:44 mark as he corralled a groundball following a shot from Nick Dallas (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and slipped a shot past the keeper, giving Regis a 4-1 advantage.

Rodrigo would add two more before the half, one on a nifty pass from Brandon Mehler (Bay Shore, N.Y.), as the Pride took a commanding 6-1 lead into the break.

AMC's Lucas Stralka (East Greenwich, R.I.) scored the lone goal of the third quarter for the AMCATS to make it a 6-2 game with 11:54 to play in the period. Stralka cut the deficit in half at the 7:54 mark of the fourth quarter as he fought his way from behind the net and through the Pride defense to score and made it 6-3.

Regis answered nearly a minute later as Chris Campbell (South Hadley, Mass.) and Billy Stewart worked the give-and-go, resulting in Stewart's second tally of the game to put the Pride back on top by four. Stralka struck again for the AMCATS to keep Anna Maria within striking distance, but Rodrigo's fourth goal of the game staked the Pride to an 8-4 lead they would not relinquish. Campbell rounded out the scoring for the Pride as Stewart picked up his second assist of the day en route to the Pride's 9-4 victory.

The Pride committed only 21 turnovers compared to 23 for the visitors, while Regis scooped up 34 groundballs and the AMCATS grabbed 25. Both teams were effective on clear attempts as Regis went 14-for-18 and Anna Maria was 16-for-21. The Pride won 10-of-16 face-offs and outshot the AMCATS, 35-30.

Jack O'Brien (Milton, Mass.) went 8-for-13 on face-offs and led the Pride with seven groundballs. Andrew O'Reilly added four groundballs of his own, while Brian Cidado (Easton, Mass.) had three caused turnovers to lead the defense. Zach Roy (Saugus, Mass.) scooped up three groundballs and had a pair of caused turnovers as well.

Lucas Stralka led the AMCATS attack with three goals, three groundballs, and a pair of caused turnovers. Henriques added the other goal for Anna Maria, adding five groundballs, while Nathan Batallas (Templeton, Mass.) grabbed a team-high seven groundballs. Franco Francioso (Walpole, Mass.) falls to 0-3 on the year while allowing nine goals and matching Crane with 14 saves on the night.

The Pride return to action on Saturday afternoon when they host Thomas College in a 3:30 p.m. game. Anna Maria continues the search for their first win of the year on Saturday in the AMCATS 2014 home opener against Daniel Webster College.