Box Score
March 12, 2011
Final Stats
NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's lacrosse team defeated visiting Mount Ida, 10-5, in a non-conference match at Cressy Field Saturday afternoon.
Eight players scored for the Corsairs during the contest. Senior midfielders Stephen Espinola (Groton, MA/Groton-Dunstable HS) and Bobby Smith (Wakefield, MA/Wakefield HS) led the way with two goals apiece. Espinola also added an assist. Senior attacker Josh Arsenault (Revere, MA/Malden Catholic HS) had a game-high four assists with a goal while junior attacker Nick Brett (Loudon, NH/Merrimack Valley HS/AIC) added a goal and an assist. Freshman midfielder Justin Lawless (Quincy, MA/Archbishop Williams HS) scored his first goal of the season.
Senior midfielder Paul Battapaglia (Clinton, CT/The Morgan School) scored twice for the Mustangs. Sophomore attacker Nick Yacuzzi (Worcester, MA/St. John's HS) contributed a goal and two assists while senior attackers Dan Harrington (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) and Matt Savage (Peabody, MA/Peabody HS) each tallied a goal in the loss.
UMass Dartmouth carried their offensive momentum into this contest, jumping out to an early 2-0 lead with 11:37 to play in the first quarter. Mount Ida added goals late in the first and second quarter, forcing a 2-2 tie at halftime. The Mustangs continued their offensive surge with two more goals to open the third quarter to take a 4-2 advantage. After a penalty was called on Mount Ida junior goalkeeper James McAllister (Smithfield, RI/LaSalle Academy) with 8:22 left in the third, the Corsairs scored twice on Mustang back up freshman goalkeeper Craig Bray (New Caanan, CT/Vermont Academy), allowing UMD to regain a 5-4 lead. The Corsairs never looked back, scoring twice more to close the third period and outscored Mount Ida 3-1 in the final period, securing the 10-5 victory.
"Mount Ida was a very tough defensive team," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Kevin Mahoney. "We didn't play our game for the first two quarters. We came out too confident and they threw a curveball at us that took time for our scheme to adjust. Our defense did a good job to hold [Mount Ida] to five goals, and freshman goalkeeper Nick Thayer (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford HS) had another phenomenal day."
The Corsairs outshot the Mustangs, 40-23, during the contest. Thayer made nine saves for UMD, while McAllister made 20 saves and Bray made 1 save for Mount Ida.
UMass Dartmouth improved to 4-0 with the victory, while Mount Ida dropped to 0-2 with the defeat. The Corsairs will return to action when they host Massachusetts Maritime next Thursday, March 24th. Mount Ida will visit Merchant Marine on Monday.
UMASS DARTMOUTH LACROSSE
