CLERMONT, Fla. – After three days of practice in the warmer temperatures of Central Florida, the Endicott men's lacrosse team finally hit the field to take on New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival Springfield at the National Training Center in Clermont. Endicott and Springfield battled into the second overtime where the Pride ultimately came out on top 13-12 on a game-winning goal by senior attackman Ryon Lynch (Frederick, Md.), his third goal of the game.
Endicott (4-2) plays their second Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) contest of the season on Saturday, March 22nd as the Blue and Green travel to Roger Williams (6-1) for a 1:00 pm face-off. The Hawks are coming off an 11-6 victory over UMass Dartmouth. In 2013, the Gulls handed the Hawks a 15-9 defeat during the regular season with midfielder Harrison Cotter (Lordship, Conn.) registering a hat trick plus an assist, midfielder Chris Murphy (Holden, Mass.) netted two goals, and goalie Cameron Bell (Falmouth, Maine) making 15 saves between the pipes.
Against Springfield, Endicott raced out to a 5-0 lead over the opening 5:15 of the first quarter behind a pair of goals from junior attacker Kyle Weber (West Hartford, Conn.) and one goal apiece from freshman Colin Bannon (Westport, Conn.), junior Jeremy Morgan (Lake Panamoka, N.Y.), and junior Nick Pinciaro (Beverly, Mass.).
Springfield got the board with 5:54 remaining in the first on an unassisted tally by Dom Roberto (Malden, Mass.) to make a 5-1 game and the Pride did not stop there as they rattled off a run of six-straight goals to take over the lead. Each goal was scored by a different shooter with five of the six coming on unassisted attacks.
Trailing 6-5, Bannon stopped the bleeding with his second goal of the half to tie the game and junior midfielder Jonathan Morgan (Lake Panamoka, N.Y.) beat Springfield goalie Connor Nash (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) with 1:08 remaining in the second quarter to put Endicott back on top.
Jonathan Morgan would score the first goal for either team in the second half, finding the back of the net at the 8:17 mark of the third quarter for his fourth goal of the season. Endicott's three-goal run put the Gulls ahead 8-6, but Springfield fought back to knot the scoreboard at eight, at 10, and at 12-12 with just 1:05 remaining in the fourth quarter. Lynch scored the game-tying goal off an assist from Devin Abad (East Longmeadow, Mass.).
Endicott had their chances on offensive to take the lead in the final moments of regulation and throughout the first and second overtime, but Nash came up with big saves to hold the Gulls offense in check. Midway through the second overtime, Nash recorded his 16th and final save as the Pride picked up the ground ball, moved into transition, and generated the game-winning goal for Lynch.
Endicott fell to 7-3 all-time against Springfield with the Pride earning their first victory since 2010, an 8-3 win at home.
Weber finished with a game-high four goals, Bannon also had four points with three goals and an assist, and Jeremy Morgan led all players with three assists. Freshman face-off man Tommy Hughes (Coram, N.Y.) recorded 13 ground balls after winning 16-of-19 attempts at the draw. Six different players recorded a caused turnover including defensive midfielder Jonny Kovach (Shaker Heights, Ohio), long-stick midfielder Will Farfalla (Glen Rock, N.Y.), and defenders Chris Cooney (Cranston, R.I.) and Breck Merritt (Weston, Mass.).
