Box Score MANSFIELD, Conn. – Six first quarter goals proved to be too much, as UMass Dartmouth fell to Little East Conference foe Eastern Connecticut 13-9 Saturday afternoon on the road. The Corsairs slip to 4-8 overall and 1-2 in the Little East, while the Warriors improve to 7-4 and remain unbeaten in Little East action.
Senior Bo Prozinski (Ashland, Mass.) led the way for the Corsairs offense as he registered four points on the afternoon, consisting of three goals and an assist. The Warriors were led by Senior Liam Murphy (Dover, NH.) who had four goals and added one assist.
The first quarter was all Warriors, as ECSU struck six times in the frame. Murphy buried his 13th goal of the season to crack the scoreboard for the Warriors only 90 seconds after the opening whistle. Eastern Connecticut then saw two goals by senior Tim Reilly (Hanover, Mass.), and another by Murphy to increase the Warriors' lead to 4-0 halfway through the first.
ECSU would cap off the first quarter rattling home two more goals by senior Michael Dellanno (Wakefield, Mass.) and sophomore Harrison Urda (Milford, NH).
UMass Dartmouth would finally get on the scoreboard when sophomore DJ Miller (Ashland, Mass.) found the back of the net after three minutes of play in the second quarter. Eastern Connecticut answered right back with two goals by sophomore David Borovsky (Burlington, Conn.) and Murphy to push the Warrior lead to 8-1.
After the halftime break, the Corsairs fought back by scoring three of the four goals in the third quarter. Prozinski started the rally 5:06 into the half. He was followed by goals by fellow senior Tyler Prentice (Chelmsford, Mass.) and sophomore Jordan Torres (New Bedford, Mass.) to cut the deficit to 8-4. Warrior junior Nick Fernandes (Fairfield, Conn.) halted the run with a score of his own right before the end of the stanza.
The Corsairs struck quick to start out the fourth quarter with a goal by Miller to bring the score to 9-5 in favor of Eastern Connecticut.
After a goal by senior Dan Vasquez (Newington, Conn.), UMass Dartmouth responded with a score by senior Andrew Johnson (Hopkinton, Mass.). Eastern followed suit with two goals to increase the lead to 12-6. After the second goal from senior Giuseppe Parisi (Danbury, Conn.), the Corsairs scored the three of the final four goals to close out the game.
Junior Matt LaFond (Bridgewater, Mass.) made eight saves for the Corsairs, but received the loss in 58 minutes in the crease. He was relieved for nearly two minutes by sophomore Kyle Taylor (Raynham, Mass.). For the Warriors, senior Blake Smaldone (Hamilton, Mass.) got the starting nod and the win after making 14 saves in almost 59 minutes of action. Freshman Dan Brewer (West Hartford, Conn.) played the remaining minute of play and made one save.
UMass Dartmouth will return to action when they travel to Boston College High School to take on UMass Boston on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
