Men’s Lacrosse Pulls Away with Season-Opening Victory

HAMBURG, N.Y. - After Hilbert College rallied back to tie Monday afternoon's contest, Regis College pulled away in the final nine minutes of regulation for an 11-7 victory in a non-conference men's collegiate lacrosse match at St. Francis High School.

The match was scoreless until the eighth minute of play when Jack Jaynes (Reading, Mass.) earned his first career collegiate goal. Later in the first quarter, Anthony Marsella (Johnston, R.I.) picked up his first tally of the day, and then the Pride took advantage of an extra-man opportunity as Jaynes set up Brendan Cook (Billerica, Mass.) for a goal to extend the Regis lead to 3-0.

Jaynes assisted on Cook's second goal of the match just over one minute into the second quarter, but Hilbert responded with goals by Matthew Kennedy and Jason Sage. Cook clinched his hat trick with 5:24 remaining in the first half, but a goal by Aidan Franko with just 25 seconds left on the clock brought the Hawks back within two goals at 5-3 heading into halftime.

The teams exchanged goals in the third quarter, featuring two goals apiece by Nick Klein (Buxton, Maine) of Regis and Joey Dimaria of Hilbert as the Pride maintained a one-goal advantage heading into the fourth quarter. With 9:40 remaining in regulation, Dimaria scored a man-up goal off an assist from Kennedy to tie the match at 7-7.

Just over one minute later, Jaynes would score the eventual game-winning goal thanks to an assist from Cook. Jaynes set up Cook two more times and Marsella added an unassisted tally while the Pride defense kept the Hawks off the scoreboard down the stretch.

Cook finished with a career-high five goals, while Jaynes ended up with two goals, five assists, five groundballs, and two caused turnovers. Matt Cabassa (Weymouth, Mass.) went 5-for-7 on his faceoff opportunities and collected a team-high six turnovers, and Thomas Crater (Welcome, N.C.) won seven faceoffs to help the Pride earn possession at key times.

Devin Hammon (Chicopee, Mass.) started in net for Regis and collected seven saves, including two important saves late in the contest. Regis earned more shots on goal than Hilbert, 32-14, but Hawk goalie Griffin Miller was credited with 21 saves, featuring eight saves in the third quarter to keep his team close until the very end.

As a team, Regis was a perfect 17-for-17 on clearing attempts and committed just 12 turnovers, while Hilbert was 18-for-24 on clearing opportunities but turned the ball over 24 times.

Regis College (1-0) will play a non-conference match against Elms College in Chicopee, Mass., Wednesday, March 6, starting at 5 p.m.