MITCHELL EDGES REGIS IN NECC OPENER

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College men's lacrosse team went scoreless in the fourth quarter but held on for an 11-10 victory over Regis College on Saturday afternoon in a New England Collegiate Conference contest at Alumni Field.

Peter Leighton (Wilmington, Mass.) led the Pride (6-3 overall, 0-1 NECC) with four goals and two assists, while Billy Stewart (West Roxbury, Mass.) chipped in with three goals and Chris Campbell (South Hadley, Mass.) had two goals and two assists

Senior Demetre Lyras (Rocky Point, N.Y.) scored four goals and added an assist to pace the Mariners (4-3 overall, 2-0 NECC) while classmate Shane Sullivan (Quaker Hill, Conn.) finished with two goals and two assists. 

Mitchell committed a season-high 14 penalties in the contest and paid dearly, as Regis netted six man-up goals on the day. The Pride finished 6-for-12 with the extra man and scored their final two goals of the game on the power play.

The Mariners led 6-5 at halftime, but the Pride started the second half with a man advantage and quickly cashed in when Nicky Rodrigo (Miami, Fla.) found Stewart for the game-tying score. Mitchell then went back up by two behind goals from Lyras and David Klapp (Greenfield, N.Y.), but Campbell and Stewart answered back for Regis to knot the score at 8-8.

The Mariners scored three goals in the final 4:07 of the third quarter to take an 11-8 lead into the final period. Jordan Cook (Groton, Conn.) scored off an assist by Sullivan to start things off, and Sullivan and Lyras each added scores to pump the lead to three.

Two costly Mitchell penalties midway through the fourth quarter gave Regis a chance to get back in the game. The Pride took full advantage, scoring a pair of man-up goals just 1:48 apart to cut the deficit to one. Leighton scored his fourth goal of the day off a feed from Campbell with 9:52 to play, and Campbell followed with a score off an assist by Rodrigo with 8:04 left.

Mitchell goalie JD LeMay (Lagrangeville, N.Y.) came up with two big saves in the final five minutes to keep his team in front. However, a penalty with 1:28 remaining gave Regis a final shot at pulling even. The Pride got off two shots during the power play, both of which were off target, before defenseman Wayne Brookbanks (West Hartford, Conn.) forced a turnover to give the ball back to Mitchell. The Mariners then killed off the rest of the penalty and held on for the final 28 seconds for the win.

LeMay finished with six saves while Regis goalie D.J. Barrile (Medford, Mass.) recorded nine.

Mitchell will next play at Mount Ida College on Wednesday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. Regis returns to action at Mass Maritime on Tuesday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Release courtesy of Mitchell Sports Information