SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Junior midfielder Jeremy Morgan (Lake Panamoka, N.Y.) was named Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Offensive Player of the Week in a 1-1 week for a Gulls men's lacrosse team that defeated University of New England in their first conference game and narrowly lost to New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) opponent Amherst at home. Morgan produced a total of seven points in the week on five goals and two assists while scooping six ground balls.
This is Morgan's first CCC weekly award in his third season in the Blue and Green. His three-goal output in a 14-5 victory over the Nor'easters set a career-high as did his five ground balls against the Lord Jeffs. He averaged a .312 shot percentage, with five shots beating opposing goalies on 16 attempts, with one man-up goal and a caused turnover.
Against UNE and Endicott trailing 5-4 with under five minutes to go in the first half, Morgan knotted the score with his first goal off an assist from junior Kyle Weber (West Hartford, Conn.). Midway through the third quarter at the 7:38 mark, Morgan found the back of the net again this from off a pass from captain Peter Erickson (Yarmouth, Maine) to extend Endicott's lead at that point to 8-5. His final tally made it a 10-5 game as freshman Colin Bannon (Westport, Conn.) registered his second assist by finding Morgan with three minutes left in the third. All three of Morgan's goals came as part of an 11-goal streak for the Gulls to take complete control of their conference opener.
Morgan's lone assist in the UNE game came at 6:49 into the opening quarter as he connected with Weber to tie the game at one goal apiece.
In the Amherst game, Endicott quickly jumped out to a 2-0 advantage with the second goal coming off Morgan's stick, unassisted, with 8:35 on the first quarter clock. The Gulls continued to control the first half tempo as a Morgan pass to Harrison Cotter (Lordship, Conn.) for a goal made it 5-2 with just 1:59 left until halftime. Amherst rallied in the second half to move ahead 11-7 but Endicott battled back late in the fourth quarter and with the man-advantage, Morgan pulled the Blue and Green to within two at 11-9 off teammate Joshua Tordik's (Sayville, N.Y.) team-leading 12th assist with 4:12 remaining.
With his five goals on the week, Morgan has already passed his single-season high of eight goals set last spring and his seventh point tied his career-high of 12 overall points set during his freshman campaign.
Morgan and his Endicott teammates are currently down in Florida prepping for their Wednesday showdown with New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival Springfield set for a 12:00 pm face-off. The Gulls enter this week's contest as the nation's 17th-ranked program according to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division III poll while the Pride are ranked 15th. Both teams are 4-1 on the year.
