Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Senior Nick Foley (Walpole, Mass.) and junior Nate Wilson (Norwich, Conn.) combined to score eight goals, four apiece, to lead Western Connecticut State University to an 11-8 upset victory over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth this evening in the First Round of the 2015 Little East Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship Tournament on Cressy Field.
The Colonials (6-11) will advance to the Semifinal Round, when they travel to top-seeded Keene State College at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 30. The Corsairs complete the 2015 campaign with an overall record of 8-9.
Trailing 3-1 at the end of the first quarter, UMass Dartmouth penned the first two markers of the second stanza into its ledger to forge a 3-all tie. Junior Bo Prozinski (Ashland, Mass.) converted a feed from freshman DJ Miller (Ashland, Mass.) at the doorstep of the cage to key the surge. Less than three minutes later, Miller evened the contest with his 18th goal of the season off a helper from senior Riley Baxter (Groton, Mass.).
However, Western Connecticut immediately responded 28 seconds later when Foley scored his second of four goals on the night. The Colonials continued to apply the offensive pressure as the visitors extended their advantage back to two goals 49 seconds later. Wilson received a crafty pass from senior Anthony Nejame (Danbury, Conn.), who was behind the net, and deposited it into the back of the cage. Following a pair of infractions, Western Connecticut cashed in on the two-man advantage to take a 6-3 lead into the halftime intermission.
Freshman Jordan Torres (New Bedford, Mass.) trimmed the Corsairs deficit to 6-4 at the 5:18 mark of the third quarter, when he finished a feed from junior Alex Lucas (Brookfield, Mass.). The Colonials took their largest lead of the evening, when the visitors strung together back-to-back tallies. UMass Dartmouth got a boost going into the fourth quarter as Miller trickled a shot past the Western keeper.
The Corsairs were able to trim the margin to two goals twice during the final eight minutes of regulation, but the Colonials won key faceoffs to erode the momentum. Junior Tyler Prentice (Chelmsford, Mass.) scored his first goal of the contest and 15th of the season to cut the deficit to 9-7 with 7:40 left on the clock. The visitors then won a key faceoff that allowed Western Connecticut to kill off a minute penalty. Wilson ended the hosts' rally with his fourth and final marker of the contest to extend the lead back to three goals at 10-7.
The Colonials were whistled for another one-minute infraction that Miller took full advantage of, netting his team-leading third goal of the match with 2:38 remaining in regulation. The Corsairs won ensuing faceoff, but committed a costly turnover. Western sealed the contest with a goal from Nejame in the final minute to cap the scoring.
Miller paced the UMass Dartmouth attack with four points, on three goals and an assist, while Prozinski contributed two markers to finish the season with a team-high 34. Junior Joey Christopher (Chelmsford, Mass.) collected a game-high seven groundballs, while classmate Andrew Johnson (Hopkinton, Mass.) caused three turnovers and scooped up five groundballs.
Senior Kevin Seery (East Lyme, Conn.) made 10 saves to backstop Western Connecticut to the victory, while his counterpart, sophomore Matt Lafond (Bridgewater, Mass.) turned aside 11 attempts.
Both teams registered 36 shots, but the Corsairs held a 19-15 advantage over the final 30 minutes of regulation. UMass Dartmouth had a slight edge in groundballs (31-30) thanks to a 16-13 lead in the second half.
