Box Score BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. – A career-high five points for senior Steve Merrick (Methuen, Mass.) give the Corsairs enough offense to hold off Massachusetts Maritime 13-11 despite a late rally by the Buccaneers in non-conference action Wednesday night. UMass Dartmouth improves to 4-7 on the year while Mass. Maritime falls to 5-7.
Merrick filled the stat sheet with a career-high four goals and added in one assist with three ground balls. Junior goalkeeper Matt LaFond (Bridgewater, Mass.) was crucial for the Corsairs, especially in the closing seconds, turning aside 16 shots in the full 60 minutes.
Neither team could score until the 12:22 marker in the first quarter, when the Corsairs jumped out for a quick 2-0 lead, with goals from sophomore Jordan Torres (New Bedford, Mass.) and senior Bo Prozinski (Ashland, Mass.).
The Buccaneers answered with two of their own, when freshman Ted Powers (Marshfield, Mass.) potted his 23rd goal at 14:18 of the first, and senior Reed McLean (Wilbraham, Mass.) tallied his 27th of the season.
Merrick scored his 10th and 11th goals of the season under three minutes apart to put the Corsairs up 4-2 halfway through the second. The senior from Methuen nearly had a natural hat trick, if it wasn't for junior Steve Anderson (Crownsville, Md.), who found the back of the net at 6:23 in the second. Merrick answered Anderson's goal with his third of the contest, which started a run of six of the next seven goals in favor of UMass Dartmouth. Merrick's fourth goal of the game bookended the Corsairs' scoring onslaught in the third.
Mass. Maritime started to chip away the Corsairs' lead in the tail end of the third quarter, with man-up goals from both McLean and senior Anthony Kurylak (Exeter, N.H.) to draw the visitors' lead to 10-6 before the final quarter.
In the fourth, junior Sean Peters (Medway, Mass.) opened up the scoring with his second of the year a little over three minutes into the quarter. Jimmy Hirtle (Tewskbury, Mass.) potted his third goal of his freshman campaign 19 seconds later to extend the UMass lead to 13-6.
Mass. Maritime's offense then proceeded to score the final five goals to close out the contest. Freshman Zack O'Brien (Lakeville, Mass.) started the stretch at the 6:25 marker. Powers rattled home the next three Buccaneers' goals to cut the UMass Dartmouth lead to three with the last one goal coming with under four minutes remaining on the game clock. Junior Joseph Landry (Chatham, N.J.) scored two minutes after Powers' final goal to slash the Corsair lead to 13-11.
In the closing seconds, the Buccaneers had multiple good looks at goals, but LaFond stood strong in the crease making three stops in the final minute to seal the win.
LaFond's counterpart, senior James Klose (Ellicott City, Md.), made 13 saves between the pipes for the Buccaneers.
UMass Dartmouth will return to Little East Conference action when they travel to Willimantic, Conn. to take on the league-leading Warriors of Eastern Connecticut on Saturday at 1 p.m.
