Thomas Men's Lacrosse Tripped Up by NAC Leader New England College

WATERVILLE, Maine --- The Thomas College men's lacrosse team fell to 0-5 overall and 0-3 in North Atlantic Conference play with a 23-4 loss to New England College on Saturday at Smith Field.

Senior Kade Strout (Richmond, Maine / Richmond) and sophomore Colby Blondin (Colchester, Vt. / Colchester) each scored a pair of unassisted goals to account for all of the Terriers scoring.

The Pilgrims jumped out to a 7-0 lead after one quarter and led 13-0 before Blondin tallied his first of the game with just 44 seconds to play in the first half.

Strout made it 13-2 after converting a man-up opportunity at the 8:26 mark of the third quarter. New
England College tallied two more goals before Strout added his second of the game with 4:32 to play in the period. The Pilgrims added one more goal to lead 16-3 at the quarter break, then added seven more goals in the fourth quarter to push the lead to 23-3 with just under five minutes to play.

Blondin capped the scoring with an unassisted goal with 3:11 to play.

The Pilgrims held large advantages in shots (58-10), ground balls (55-24) and faceoffs (25 wins in 31 attempts) and had 23 clears in 29 attempts.

Matt Richard had a game-high seven points on two goals and five assists. Daniel Medvetz (five goals, one assist) and Sean Largay (two goals, four assists) added six points apiece, while Jarred Sausville tallied four goals and Skyler Saunders had three goals and two assists.

Austin Frankel won 19 of 24 faceoffs and scooped up a game-high 14 ground balls. Connor Fries added 12 ground balls and caused four turnovers.

William Platt picked up the win in goal for NEC (5-5, 3-0 NAC). He and Daniel Tribbrine combined for two saves on just 10 shots faced.

In addition to his two goals, Blondin also hauled in a team-high six ground balls and caused two turnovers. He also went 6-for-28 on faceoffs.

Seniors Sheldon Jones (Lewiston, Maine / Lewiston) and Gershom Renee (Hartford, Conn. / Classical Magnet) also scooped up five ground balls.

The Terriers wrap up a three-game homestand on Tuesday when they host Johnson State at 4 p.m. at Smith Field. The Pilgrims step out of NAC play to host UMass-Boston at 4 p.m. Tuesday before welcoming Green Mountain to Henniker for a 4 p.m. Wednesday showdown.