CCC Athletes of the Week – Week Ending March 8th
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The sixth-ranked Endicott men's lacrosse team took home two of the three Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) weekly awards after posting victories over Connecticut College (12-6) and Springfield (22-14) as senior attacker Nick Pinciaro (Beverly, Mass.) and senior defenseman Ian Knechtle (New Canaan, Conn.) earned Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week accolades.
Pinciaro and Knechtle have helped the Gulls achieved an unblemished 4-0 mark heading into a top-10 showdown with #10 Lynchburg on Tuesday, March 10th at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday's game between Endicott and Lynchburg is the first-ever meeting between the two programs and will be available through live stats and live video coverage on www.ECGulls.com.
Pinciaro, now a four-time CCC Offensive Player of the Week for his career, totaled 12 points on the week including a career-high nine in Endicott's 22-14 win over defending NEWMAC champions Springfield on Saturday. Pinciaro's historic day came via a career-high six goals with three assists. Four of his points against the Pride came in the second half as netted three goals with an assist to turn a four-goal lead at 13-9 in the third quarter into a seven-goal lead at 21-10 with 9:14 left in the game. He also scored two unassisted goals and assisted on a Colin Bannon (Westport, Conn.) tally that helped the Blue and Green race out to an 8-4 first quarter advantage. Earlier in the week, Pinciaro scored two of Endicott's six goals to start the game with a 6-0 lead over Connecticut College last Wednesday.
Two of Pinciaro's nine goals on the week came with the man-advantage. He took just 14 shots in the two games combined for a .643 shot percentage. He also added three groundballs and a caused turnover.
Knechtle collects his first CCC Defensive Player of the Week award for his collegiate career after posting seven caused turnovers, 10 groundballs, with his first two goals as part of the Endicott men's lacrosse program this past week. Knechtle played lockdown defense against Connecticut College to start the week, causing five turnovers including one on the game's opening possession that resulting in an Endicott goal. On Saturday in an offense-heavy game against Springfield, Knechtle's seven groundballs and two caused turnovers were crucial in the Gulls transitioning possession to the offense. He would also find the back of the net on unassisted goals, one after causing a turnover and another after a Cameron Bell (Falmouth, Maine) save that led to a Knechtle goal in transition.
