BEVERLY, Mass. – The Endicott men's lacrosse team hosted Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) foe Roger Williams on Wednesday evening for their home opener. Led by a strong defensive unit, highlighted by 16 saves from junior Cameron Bell (Falmouth, Maine) and five caused turnovers from junior Ben Katzen (Blauvelt, N.Y.) the Gulls soared to a 13-5 victory. Endicott, who moved up to #11 in the national polls yesterday, improves to 2-0 (1-0 CCC) while Roger Williams falls to 1-0 (0-1 CCC) in their season opener.
Endicott will take the field next on Wednesday, March 4th as they host NESCAC opponent Connecticut College for a 4:00 p.m. faceoff. The Hawks will play next on Saturday, February 28th as they also will battle with Connecticut College in Bristol at 1:00 p.m.
The Blue and Green played a solid defensive game as junior Fabian Brunner (Niskayuna, N.Y.) followed Katzen with four caused turnovers while five different Gulls picked up groundballs. On the offensive end senior Kyle Weber (West Hartford, Conn.) posted a game high three goals while also tallying an assist in the victory. Seniors Nick Pinciaro (Beverly, Mass.), Joshua Tordik (Sayville, N.Y.) and Jeremy Morgan (Lake Panamoka, N.Y.) followed with two goals each while Pinciaro and sophomore Colin Bannon (Westport, Conn.) also led a game high two assists.
For the Hawks junior Tim Kelly (Ridgefield, Conn.) led the way with his two goals while goalkeeper, senior Luke Aubrey (Norwalk, Conn.) recorded 14 saves in the loss.
The first quarter was a battle as the Blue and Green just edged the Hawks 2-1. Senior Sam Scoba (Franklin, Mass.) started off the scoring as he pushed down the field to beat the Hawks defense for 1-0 lead in the opening minute. Roger Williams answered back three minutes later as senior Mike Hanna (Somers, Conn.) controlled a feed from sophomore Max Cammarota (Redding, Conn.) for the game tying goal. Both sides would battle for possession for the remainder of the quarter until Pinciaro made a quick pass to Weber in front of the cage with five seconds remaining on the clock for the 2-1 lead.
The second quarter showed a strong group of Gulls who scored two goals for every one recorded by the Hawks. The combo of Pinciaro and Weber opened up the quarter for the 3-1 lead while Tordik paved his way down the field for an unassisted goal. The Hawks would take advantage of a man up opportunity as junior Will Siefert (Duxbury, Mass.) beat Bell for the 4-2 score. Jeremy Morgan and Pinciaro would tally back to back goals less than 30 seconds apart for the four goal advantage. Kelly would score his first goal of the night before Bannon and senior Harrison Cotter (Lordship, Conn.) each tallied goals to end the first half with an 8-3 lead.
The second period was controlled by the Gulls as they held Roger Williams to just two goals while scoring five of the own. In the third quarter Endicott hit four unanswered goals from Weber, Pinciaro, Tordik and Morgan for the deep 12-3 lead.
In the fourth Kelly would break the scoring lull for the Hawks with help from senior Patrick Holland (Wilton, Conn.) to give Roger Williams four goals in the game. At the 8:10 mark senior Jonathan Morgan (Lake Panamoka, N.Y.) and sophomore Will Jennings (Danvers, Mass.) made a play to goal to record the final Endicott goal of the night. Roger Williams freshman Eddie Hill (Somers, Conn.) would throw one final goal with 5:22 remaining in the game but the damage was done as the Gulls lifted to the 13-5 victory in the home and conference opener. Endicott is now 19-5 all-time with Roger Williams, claiming three straight victories.
