Men's Lacrosse Handle NEC In Weekend Matchup

Henniker, N.H.--The Regis men's lacrosse team was on the road this weekend, taking on the Pilgrims of NEC College in another Great Northeast Athletic Conference matchup. The Pride would take care of business, winning 12-7. With today's win, Regis improves their record to 3-0, and 2-0 in GNAC play.

Jack Jaynes would once again lead the Pride's offense with four goals, he would be accompanied by Ian Brown who would add three of his own.

For the Pilgrims, Brody McGonigle would provide two goals and two assists.

How It Happened

NEC struck quickly to open the game, controlling the opening faceoff and getting on the board less than 10 seconds in as Matt O'Rourke finished a feed from Evan Zonderman for the first goal of the game. The visitors continued to apply pressure early, doubling their lead midway through the quarter when Zonderman scored off an assist from O'Rourke to make it 2–0. Regis responded with a goal from Nick Klein to cut the deficit in half, but NEC answered moments later when Andrew Pepka converted off a pass from Brody McGonigle. Ian Brown added another for Regis to keep things close, though McGonigle restored a two-goal cushion for NEC late in the quarter, sending the teams into the second with NEC leading 4–2.

Regis began to shift momentum in the second quarter, capitalizing on a man-up opportunity as Klein scored his second of the game to make it 4–3. Both teams traded chances throughout the middle portion of the period, with goalies Nate Finn and Devin Hammon making several key saves to keep the score tight. Brown eventually tied the game for Regis with just under six minutes remaining, leveling the score at 4–4. NEC briefly regained the lead when Owen Taylor scored with 46 seconds left, but Regis closed the half with a dramatic surge. Klein netted the equalizer with 15 seconds remaining, and just nine seconds later Jack Jaynes finished a feed from Matt Cabassa to give Regis its first lead of the game, 6–5, heading into halftime.

The Pride carried that momentum into the third quarter. Jaynes extended the lead to two goals midway through the period with an unassisted tally, and he later added a man-up goal to push the advantage to 8–5. NEC attempted to claw back, breaking through when O'Rourke finished a pass from Taylor to cut the deficit to two. However, Regis answered late in the quarter when Cabassa scored his first goal of the season with under a minute remaining. Behind strong defensive play and timely saves from Hammon, Regis entered the final quarter with a 9–6 lead.

Regis continued to build on its advantage in the fourth quarter, even while playing a man down, as Luke Meelia scored shorthanded early in the period to make it 10–6. NEC managed to get one back on a man-up opportunity when McGonigle found the net with just over 10 minutes to play, but Regis maintained control the rest of the way. Jaynes added another shorthanded goal midway through the quarter, and Brown capped the scoring late with his second goal of the game. The Pride's defense held strong in the closing minutes, securing a 12–7 victory after outscoring NEC 10–3 following the first quarter.

Inside The Numbers

• Today's win ties their best start to a season in the last five years at 3-0
• Matt Cabasssa's lone goal today marks his first of the season.

Up Next

The Pride will be back in action a week from today, when they take on Colby-Sawyer at 4pm in another GNAC matchup.