Posted: Apr 21, 2012
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DUDLEY, Mass. – The Endicott College men’s lacrosse team broke open the game with six third-quarter goals and survived a late comeback attempt by Nichols en route to a 12-6 Commonwealth Coast Conference victory at Vendetti Field Saturday afternoon. The Bison scored four fourth-quarter goals, but saw the Gulls improve their record to 8-7 overall and 5-2 in conference games. Nichols dips to 6-8 overall and 2-5 in the CCC.
Endicott had six players with multiple-point games, led by Nick Pinciaro (Beverly, Mass.), who scored two goals and added two assists. Brendan Eppley (Darien, Conn.) scored twice and assisted another. Connor Prescott (Norwalk, Conn.) potted a pair of goals and Harrison Cotter (Lordship, Conn.) assisted two tallies.
Brian Girard (Norwood, Mass.) led Nichols with a goal and two assists, while Zac Smith (Wilbraham, Mass.) scored twice. Devan Maher (Leominster, Mass.) had a goal and a helper. Goalkeeper Scott Gray (Annapolis, Md.) played a spectacular first half with 13 stops and finished the game with 19.
Gray made 11 stops in the first quarter alone to aid the Bison in holding the Gulls to just one goal in the stanza, an Eppley unassisted tally with one minute left in the quarter.
Gray continued to deny point-blank shots, but Endicott found its stride in the frame, as Doug Bergner (Fairfield, Conn.) potted his first of the season at 9:28 before Pinciaro scored just over two minutes later.
Macaulay Gillis (Northborough, Mass.) set up Girard to put Nichols on the board with 5:11 left in the second quarter, but Endicott rattled of two more, both set up by low passes from Pinciaro to carry a 5-1 lead into halftime.
The Gulls exploded for six goals in the third, notching their first from Peter Erickson (Yarmouth, Maine) at the 11:06 mark before Prescott and Jonathan Morgan (Lake Panamoka, N.Y.) struck 44 seconds apart. This drove the Bison into a frenzy, and led the way to Eppley’s man-up goal at 6:30 for a 9-1 advantage. Endicott added another before the Bison’s Marc Miller (Danbury, Conn.) careened a shot off the inside of the post for Nichols’ second goal with 4:51 left in the third. Eppley connected with Pinciaro shortly after to diminish any momentum.
Jon Siderewicz (Manchester, Mass.) got his first goal of the year at the opening of the fourth, but Nichols took control as Girard assisted goals by Maher and Smith two minutes apart before Michael Bane (North Grafton, Mass.) scored his 27th of the year off a quick scoop from Miller. A Gulls slashing call gave way to the Bison’s final score, a Smith strike from Maher with 3:48 left.
Tom Burke (Sudbury, Mass.) earned the win with four saves in the first half. Endicott’s goaltending corps of Conley Cummings (Simsbury, Conn.), Chris Fotta (Duxbury, Mass.) and Kaleb Nichols (Sheldon, Vt.) all saw time between the pipes.
The Gulls held a 59-20 shot advantage in the game as well as a groundball lead of 46-19, paced by 10 from faceoff man Sam Ozycz (Cheshire, Conn.), who won 14 of 15 draws.
Endicott hosts \#16 Bowdoin Sunday at noon for its regular-season finale. The CCC Championship Tournament begins on Saturday, April 28 at campus sites.
