UMass Dartmouth Holds Off Southern Maine 10-9

GORHAM, Maine -- The visiting University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Corsairs erupted for four goals in the opening seven minutes of the second half to erase a one-goal deficit and went on to defeat the University of Southern Maine Huskies 10-9 in Little East Conference men's lacrosse action at Hannaford Field Saturday afternoon.

            The win was the first since March 9 for the Corsairs and snapped a six-game losing streak.  The Corsairs improved to 3-7 overall and 1-1 in conference play.  The Huskies slide to 5-4 overall and remain winless in the conference after two games.

            Down 5-4 at halftime, the Corsairs came out firing in the third quarter getting goals from
sophomore DJ Miller (Ashland, Mass.) and seniors Alex Lucas (Brookfield, Mass./Tantasqua), Steve Merrick (Methuen, Mass./Central Catholic) and Tyler Prentice (Chelmsford, Mass.) to take an 8-5 advantage before the quarter was seven minutes old.  Lucas' goal came while the Corsairs were a man up.

            Southern Maine responded with goals from sophomore Nate DelGiudice (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) and junior Seth Wing (West Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner Area) before the quarter ended to get back within one (8-7) heading into the fourth quarter.

            Miller and Prentice scored 58 seconds apart early in the fourth to restore the Corsairs' three-goal lead.  USM senior Jaymz McStowe (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) knocked one off the Corsairs' lead with 7:06 to play, and classmate Austin Watts (Westbrook, Maine) gave the Huskies a chance to tie scoring with 22 seconds remaining.

            Southern Maine got possession of the ball off the ensuing faceoff and had a shot attempt blocked by a UMD defender as the final horn sounded.

            DelGiudice led the Huskies with three goals.  Wing added two goals and had one assist, and junior Keegan Smith (West Gardiner, Maine/Gardiner Area) had one goal and one assist.  Sophomore goalie Zach Bessette (Readfield, Maine/Maranacook) recorded 10 saves.

            Prentice finished on top of the Corsair side of the scoresheet with three goals.  Miller and senior Bo Prozinski (Ashland, Mass.) had two goals and one assist.  Lucas and senior Alex Johnson (Hopkinton, Mass.) each contributed one goal and one assist.  Johnson led all players scooping up seven ground balls.  Junior goalie Matt LaFond (Bridgewater, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) made eight saves.

            Southern Maine had the edge in total shots (39-31) and ground balls (32-25).

            The Huskies return to Hannaford Field next Saturday (1:00 p.m.) to host Keene State College.  The Corsairs will have a Wednesday (7:00 p.m.) non-conference match at Massachusetts Maritime Academy.