Links: Box Score
WORCESTER, Mass. – The second-ranked Merrimack College men's lacrosse team found itself in a defensive battle for most of Tuesday night's Northeast-10 Conference matchup with an upstart Assumption squad, but the Warriors pulled away late in an eventual 10-5 victory over the Greyhounds. The win was the seventh straight for the Navy and Gold, which returns home for the final two games of the regular season starting this weekend.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 10, Assumption 5
Records: #2 Merrimack (11-1, 8-1 NE10) | Assumption (7-4, 5-4 NE10)
Location: Multi-Sport Stadium | Worcester, Mass.
Attendance: 117
Duration: 1:40
What They Said
"It's always difficult with the quick turnaround for these early midweek games, and I give Assumption credit for giving us a battle throughout the game. It just goes to show you how good this league is and you have to be on your game in every matchup. We'll have plenty to work on the rest of the week as we get set for our big game Saturday with Adelphi." –
Head Coach Mike Morgan
NE10 TOURNAMENT PICTURE
Top-six qualify for tournament; seeds 1-2 receive byes, seeds 3-6 play in first round 5/1; semifinals are 5/4; final is 5/6)
1. Le Moyne (9-0)
H2H vs. MC
T2. Merrimack (8-1)
T2. Adelphi (8-1)
4. Saint Anselm (6-3)
T5. Assumption (5-4)
T5. Pace (5-4)
H2H vs. STR
7. Saint Rose (4-4)
8. Franklin Pierce (3-6)
Rapid Recap
- A low-scoring first half began with just two goals in the opening frame from the visitors, who saw rookie Christian Thomas and junior Michael O'Connell scored less than two minutes apart and that was it in terms of scoring, as the Warrior defense helped secure a 2-0 lead after 15 minutes.
- Assumption would battle back and eventually tie the game with five minutes gone in the second quarter. The two sides would then battle through the next five minutes, as some stellar goaltending from the Greyhounds kept it level, but the Warriors broke through with tallies from freshman Sean Black and sophomore Charlie Bertrand to go into halftime with a 4-2 lead.
- That momentum carried into the start of the third for the Warriors, with senior John Bassett – making his season debut – netted his first of the year with less than a minute gone before Bertrand added another to push the visitors out to their largest lead at that point (6-2). Both sides would grind through the remainder of the quarter, as Assumption got back within three goals with a late strike to make it 6-3 heading to the fourth.
- The Warriors finally flexed some of their offensive muscle early in the fourth, scoring four times in a five-minute span to take control of the game for good. O'Connell, Black, sophomore Dom Thomas and senior Bailey Walsh all tickled the twine during that stretch, which was too much for Assumption to overcome. The Greyhounds would only net two more the rest of the way before the final horn sounded with Merrimack in front by five.
Top Performances
- Black led all Warriors in a game that was relatively tame in terms of the Warriors' offensive output for their standards; he finished with five points on two goals and three assists, his 10th game with four or more points this season.
- Senior Blake Boudreau won 11-of-18 on the X while finishing with a game-high eight ground balls, winning 61.1 percent of the game's faceoffs.
- Senior Eric Coburn had two of Merrimack's seven caused turnovers and added three ground balls as well.
- Freshman Peter Brown allowed just five goals in 60 minutes of work and finished with four saves.
- In addition to Black, Bertrand and O'Connell also had two-goal outings, while Christian Thomas added two assists for a three-point night.
Notes and Numbers
- The Merrimack defense allowed just five goals on Tuesday night, one goal shy of its single-game low this year. They also held Assumption off the board on two man-up chances.
- Tuesday was the fight game that Merrimack had not converted a man-up chance all season.
- The Warriors committed a season-low seven turnovers against the Greyhounds.
- Merrimack held its 10th straight opponent to single-digit goals as part of Tuesday's win.
- Merrimack has now won the last 23 games it has scored 10 or more goals in; its last loss when posting a double-digit scoring total was in double overtime against Le Moyne (12-11) on March 18, 2017.
- Bertrand added to his league-leading goal total on the year (41), while Black added to his conference-leading total in overall scoring (61 points) and assists (37).
- Shots: 36-18 (24-9 SOG)
- EMO: (MC-ASM): 0-5 // 0-2
- Faceoffs: 11-7 // Ground Balls: 34-25
- Turnovers: 7-13 (7-4 CT) // Clears: 14-15 // 16-17
Up Next
Merrimack returns home for a rivalry matchup with sixth-ranked Adelphi this Saturday on Youth Day. Game time from Merrimack Stadium is 1 p.m.
