March 24, 2009
WENHAM, Mass. - The fifth-ranked Endicott men's lacrosse team scored seven of its nine goals in the first half, downing cross-town rival Gordon College, 9-4, on a cool spring evening in Wenham, Mass. The win improves the Gulls to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in The Commonwealth Coast Conference, while the Fighting Scots dip to an uncharacteristic 1-5 overall and 1-1 in TCCC play.
The Gulls got the game started with back-to-back strikes by Brandon Dube (Danvers, Mass.) and Jon Thanas (Cumberland, R.I.), taking a 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the first quarter.
Gordon would fire back as Danny Mack (Columbus, Ohio) took a feed from Andrew Kirkaldy (Red Deer, Canada) and beat goaltender Eric Hagarty (Sudbury, Mass.) to cut the lead in half at 2-1. The Fighting Scots refused to go quietly into the night as Mack and Kirkaldy notched consecutive goals after a Jonathan Prentice (Chelmsford, Mass.) strike, knotting the game at 3-3.
The Gordon charge ignited a fire for the Endicott offense, as the visitors pounded in five unanswered goals, including two by Eddie O'Reilly (Beverly, Mass.) off assists from Brad Lipkvich (Madison, Conn.). The Gulls' rally proved to be enough to bury the Scots, as Endicott coasted to the 9-4 win.
O'Reilly ended the night with three goals and one assist. Brandon Dube and Nick Cosco each a goal and a helper while Jonathan Prentice had two goals in the win. The Gulls platooned both Hagarty and Shane Gallagher (Lowell, Mass.) in the EC net, as the duo combined for nine saves in the win.
Endicott retakes the field on Thursday afternoon as the Gulls host the NESCAC's Colby College at 4:00 p.m. The Mules enter the match-up ranked seventh in New England, while the Gulls boast the region's top overall ranking.
