#3 Men's Lacrosse Suffers First Loss to #2 Le Moyne
Links: Box Score
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The No. 3 Merrimack College men's lacrosse team suffered its first loss of the 2016 campaign on Saturday, as second-ranked Le Moyne handed the Warriors an 11-6 setback on Saturday afternoon at Ted Grant Field.
The Basics
Score: Le Moyne 11, Merrimack 6
Records: #3 Merrimack (5-1, 4-1 NE-10) | #2 Le Moyne (5-0, 1-0 NE-10)
Location: Ted Grant Field | Syracuse, N.Y.
How It Happened
Meeting Le Moyne for the first time since the two sides played an epic overtime thriller in last year's semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament, Merrimack hit the turf in Syracuse looking for its first regular-season win over the Dolphins since the 2013 campaign.
The first quarter saw the Dolphins race out to a 3-0 lead over an eight-minute span before junior Max Allen (West Caldwell, N.J.) got the visitors on the board with his team-leading 17th marker of the year with only 1:29 left in the opening quarter.
Le Moyne took control in the second quarter after outscoring the visitors by a 5-1 margin to take an 8-2 lead into the intermission. Merrimack's lone tally came off the stick of senior long stick midfielder Scott Corcoran (Haverhill, Mass.) off a feed from classmate James Caruso (Needham, Mass.) at the 6:30 mark of the quarter.
Merrimack cut the deficit to four thanks to a 3-1 advantage in the third quarter, as two goals from Allen – including one of the man-up variety – and one other score from classmate John Bassett (Clifton Park, N.Y.) helped trim the deficit to 9-5 heading to the final frame.
That four-goal deficit was the closest the Warriors would get, as Caruso would net the Warriors' last goal of the game midway through the fourth quarter before the final horn sounded.
Notes and Numbers
- Allen recorded his fourth hat trick of the season on Saturday and also posted his third man-up goal of the year
- Caruso tied his career-high in scoring with the two-point outing (1g, 1a), his first since dishing two assists in a win over Saint Anselm last April
- Corcoran was a force on both fronts, leading the Warriors with three caused turnovers while tying for second with five ground balls
- Sophomore faceoff man Blake Boudreau (Amherst, N.H.) was strong again on the X, winning 12-of-20 (60.0%) while sharing the team lead with six ground balls
- Sophomore Sam Ventresca (Woburn, Mass.) recorded eight saves in net for the Warriors
- EMO: Merrimack (1-3) // LEM (1-4)
- SOG: Merrimack – 25 // LEM – 19
- Ground Balls: Merrimack – 31 // LEM – 27
- Clears: Merrimack (13-for-14) // LEM (20-for-24)
Up Next
The Warriors return home to host the current No. 13 team in Molloy next Saturday (March 26). First whistle from Martone-Mejail Field is set for 4 p.m.
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