#4 Men's Lacrosse Eases by AIC, 22-2, to Clinch #2 Seed in NE-10 Championship
Links: Box Score
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Fueled by a string of 16 uninterrupted goals from the end of the first quarter to the start of the fourth, the No. 4 Merrimack College men's lacrosse team clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming the Northeast-10 Conference Championship and a bye to the tournament's semifinal round thanks to a 22-2 victory at American International on Saturday afternoon in Springfield.
The Basics
Score: #4 Merrimack 22, AIC 2
Records: #4 Merrimack (11-1, 9-1 NE-10) | AIC (2-11, 0-10 NE-10)
Location: Abdow Field | Springfield, Mass.
What They Said
Head coach Mike Morgan: "We were clicking on all cylinders today, and we credit that to a very tough week of practice in addition to a challenging game with Bentley on Wednesday. We took AIC very seriously and the score doesn't indicate how tough they played us. We're proud of the result and will look to end the regular season on a strong note next Saturday at Saint Rose."
How It Happened
Needing a win in its last two games to clinch the No. 2 seed in the NE-10 Championship and – more importantly – a bye to the league's semifinal round, Merrimack did its part on Saturday with one of its most convincing victories in years.
The Warriors scored the game's first four goals before AIC got on the board with 48 seconds left, but Merrimack answered 12 seconds later to close out the opening frame with a 5-1 lead.
That would be the beginning of a string of 16 uninterrupted markers by the visitors, as Merrimack scored all eight goals in the second period and then seven more in the third to open up a 20-1 advantage.
The hosts got one back at the start of the fourth, but Merrimack added two more in the final frame to close out the match.
Inside The Numbers
- Freshman Kyle Stenberg (Annandale, N.J.) led the Warrior attack with five goals, while fellow rookies Joey Diaco (West Deptford, N.J.) and Cody Graden (Calgary, Alberta) finished posted multi-point performances, as well
- Sophomore Tucker Schwarz (Tallahassee, Fla.) scored three times while adding an assist, while junior Ryan Poirier (Portsmouth, R.I.) finished with four points (2g, 2a); fellow juniors Tim Towler (Topsfield, Mass.) and Trevor Gallagher (Simsbury, Conn.) also scored twice for the visitors
- In total, 17 different Warriors recorded at least one point in the team's most prolific offensive display of the season
- All four Warrior netminders saw action on Saturday, while sophomore Dom Madonna (Liverpool, N.Y.) made four saves to pick up his 11th win in 11 tries this year
- Sophmore Danny Loprete (Watertown, Mass.) won 13-of-17 (76.4%) faceoffs to highlight a stellar display on the X
- Merrimack outshot AIC, 59-22, and held a 46-28 lead in ground balls
Up Next
Merrimack concludes the regular season with a road trip to Saint Rose next Saturday starting at 1 p.m.
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