#3 Men's Lacrosse Improves to 3-0 with 15-9 Victory against Southern New Hampshire Sunday

Bookmark and Share

Links: Box Score // Highlights

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The third-ranked Merrimack College men's lacrosse team improved to 3-0 on the season with another coast-to-coast victory against Southern New Hampshire, as the Warriors topped the Penmen, 15-9, in their home and Northeast-10 Conference opener on Sunday at Martone-Mejail Field.

The Basics
 Score: Merrimack 15, SNHU 9
Records: #3 Merrimack (3-0, 1-0 NE10) | #RV Southern N.H. (0-1, 0-1 NE10)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.

Rapid Recap

  • Merrimack outscored SNHU by a 4-1 margin in the opening period, building a 3-0 lead before SNHU got on the board with 3:44 left in the frame, but the hosts answered 40 seconds later to regain a three-goal cushion heading to the second quarter.
  • The hosts put up another four-spot in the second stanza and stretched its lead to as many as six goals (8-2) before the Penmen found the back of the net late in the half to make it a five-goal game at the break (8-3).
  • SNHU scored 56 seconds into the third quarter to get to within four, marking the beginning of a back-and-forth stanza that saw each side answer each other's goals with one of their own, as both the Warriors and Penmen put up four markers to keep the hosts' advantage at five (12-7) entering the final period.
  • That trend continued in the fourth quarter, as the two schools kept matching the other in the goal column until the final horn sounded with Merrimack ahead by six thanks to a season-high 15 goals.

Scoring Summary

  • Senior John Bassett (Clifton Park, N.Y.) had two of the Warriors' first-period goals, with another coming off the stick of junior Blake Boudreau (Amherst, N.H.) directly off a faceoff win. Junior Kyle Stenberg (Annandale, N.J.) had the final marker of the first stanza, as well.
  • Stenberg had two more in the second period, as his second and third markers of the game bookended Merrimack's four-goal quarter. Following a SNHU goal at the 10:52 mark, senior Max Allen (West Caldwell, N.J.) found the back of the net just over a minute later, and classmate Tim Towler (Topsfield, Mass.) took a feed from junior Bailey Walsh (Derry, N.H.) and found nothing but net at the 8:05 mark to round out the Warriors' second-quarter scorers.
  • Freshman Charlie Bertrand (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) made it three straight games with a goal after doing so early in the frame. Junior Joey Diaco (West Deptford, N.J.) followed that up with a gritty tally of his own after he drove to the net and pushed it through traffic for his first of the year. Bertrand and classmate Dom Thomas (Wrentham, Mass.) each scored late in the frame, with the latter recording his first collegiate goal in the process.
  • In the fourth, Towler matched Merrimack's game-high lead after burying a pass from Thomas in the early goings before Bertrand made it three straight games to start his career with a hat trick at the 8:33 mark. Towler accomplished a hat trick of his own with 6:52 on the clock to round out the Warrior scoring.

Notes and Notables

  • Merrimack set single-game season highs in nearly every offensive category on Sunday, including points (20), goals (15), shot attempts (41) and shots on goal (26), as well as ground balls (43).
  • Bertrand was again Merrimack's leading scorer with five points (3g, 2a), bumping his season total to 16 (10g, 6a). He has had a hat trick in every single game.
  • Stenberg also posted his third straight hat trick and now ranks second on the squad with 10 points (9g, 1a).
  • Towler also notched his first hat trick of the year and first since May 1, 2015, against Adelphi (4g, 1a).

Team Leaders (MC // SNHU)

  • Points: Bertrand (5) // Zach Jacobs/Keifer Heckman (4) 
  • Goals: Bertrand/Stenberg/Towler (3) // Heckman/Daniel Trainor (2)
  • Assists: Bertrand (2) // Jacobs (3)
  • Faceoffs: Blake Boudreau (15-of-25) // Andrew Liu (12-of-26)
  • Caused Turnovers: Edward Hellier (2) // Cam Rewucki (3)
  • Saves: Edward Hellier (10-for-19) // Tyler Walsh (11-for-26)

Team Comparisons (MC // SNHU)

  • EMO: 1-5 // 0-4
  • Shot Attempts (SOG): 41 (26) // 34 (19)
  • Ground Balls: 43 // 35
  • Clears: 13-15 // 9-13
  • Turnovers: 17 // 15

Up Next
 Merrimack will enjoy a two-week layoff and then return to action for a highly anticipated matchup against defending national champion Le Moyne on Saturday, March 18, at Martone-Mejail Field. The rematch of last year's NE10 Championship Final and NCAA Semifinal will begin at 1 p.m. that afternoon.

--

For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook. 

Print Friendly Version