Second-Half Surge Paces #4 Men's Lacrosse to 12-4 Victory at Saint Rose Saturday
Links: Box Score
ALBANY, N.Y. – After scoring only four times in the first half, the fourth-ranked Merrimack College men's lacrosse scored eight of the game's final nine goals to close out the regular season with a 12-4 road victory at Saint Rose on Saturday. The Warriors wrap up the year with a 12-1 overall record and will host an NE-10 Semifinal matchup next Friday at home.
The Basics
Score: #4 Merrimack 12, Saint Rose 4
Records: #4 Merrimack (12-1, 10-1 NE-10) | Saint Rose (4-10, 3-8)
Location: Sullivan Field | Albany, N.Y.
What They Said
Head Coach Mike Morgan: "I liked the way we responded in the second half. After Saint Rose made it a one-goal game, we were very focused the rest of the way. We were crisp on offense, solid on defense, and those are the kind of efforts we're going to need going forward now when the stakes are highest."
How It Happened
Looking to cap a perfect month of April, Merrimack took to the turf at Saint Rose and scored three of the first goals of the game to stake itself a 3-1 lead after 15 minutes. The Warriors added one more midway through the second before the Golden Knights responded two minutes later, as both sides entered the locker room separated by just two (4-2).
Saint Rose made it interesting after scoring less than 90 seconds into the second half, but that would only spur a run of eight uninterrupted markers by the Warriors, who scored three more times in the third and five straight markers in the fourth before Saint Rose finally responded with 2:27 left on the clock.
Sophomores Tucker Schwarz (Tallahassee, Fla.) and Max Allen (West Caldwell, N.J.), along with junior Tim Towler (Topsfield, Mass.) scored the Warriors' first three goals in the opening frame before senior Jamie Shand (Massapequa, N.Y.) found the back of the net in the second to highlight Merrimack's first-half scorers.
Senior Kyle Guilbert (Walpole, Mass.) got on the board in the third, followed by Allen and Schwarz to make it a 7-3 game. Then in the fourth, Towler tickled the twine twice before Schawrz did likewise to push the lead to 10-3. Guilbert and Towler would add one more marker apiece to round out the day.
Inside The Numbers
- Towler's four goals led the way, while Scharz hit the 50-point mark on the season thanks to a five-point (3g, 2a) afternoon
- Guilbert (2g, 2a) also finished with five points, while Shand (1g, 1a) and Allen (2g) also each contributed two points
- In net, sophomore Dom Madonna (Liverpool, N.Y.) picked up his 12th win in 12 tries this season after finishing with 11 saves over 57 minutes before senior Morgan Green (Portsmouth, R.I.) manned the net over the final few minutes
- Merrimack was also remarkable on defense, causing 11 turnovers on the afternoon; junior Scott Corcoran (Haverhill, Mass.) had three of those interruptions, while senior Owen Jarem (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and Andy Basler (Chelmsford, Mass.) added two each
- Junior Andrew Walsh (Derry, N.H.) finished 8-for-12 (66.7%) on the X as Merrimack won 11-of-18 draws
- The Warriors outshot Saint Rose by a 51-23 margin and held a 31-23 lead in ground balls while going 3-for-8 on the man advantage
Up Next
Having already clinched a first-round bye and the No. 2 seed in the NE-10 Championship, the Warriors will host a league semifinal matchup next Friday (May 1) at home against the No. 3 seed or the No. 6 seed. Start time will be announced within the coming days.
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