Box Score KEENE, N.H. – Top-seeded Keene State unloaded for 21 shots and 10 goals in the first quarter of play on Thursday, outdoing No. 4 seed UMass Dartmouth men's lacrosse for a 23-6 final score in the Little East Conference Tournament semifinals.
UMass Dartmouth wraps up the season, finishing with an 8-10 overall record and a 4-3 slate in conference play. The Owls are now 13-3, and will host the 2016 LEC Championship on Saturday against No. 2 seed Eastern Connecticut seeking their third-straight league title.
Keene State outmanned the Corsairs across the scoresheet, with 13 different Owls registering goals on the contest on 51 total team shots. UMass Dartmouth seniors Steve Merrick (Methuen, Mass.) and Tyler Prentice (Chelmsford, Mass.) each potted two goals on the contest and classmate Bo Prozinski (Ashland, Mass.) added a pair of assists.
The game was up for grabs in the opening minutes, with Merrick potting the game's first goal and then tying the score at two on Prozinski's assist three minutes in. Keene State's Rob Hart (Londonderry, N.H.) put in the next two goals, and Prentice would score at 7:08, but the tally would mark the Corsairs' last of the first quarter.
In less than eight minutes, Keene State would close the first quarter with six straight goals to put seize control. Sophomore Hunter Arnold (Boxborough, Mass.) netted two during the stretch to help the Owls move to a comfortable 10-3 lead at just the end of the quarter.
Corsair sophomore DJ Miller (Ashland, Mass.) and senior Andrew Johnson (Hopkinton, Mass.) scored within less than 20 seconds of each other to open the second quarterand bring the deficit to a manageable five goals. The Owls would then render the lead insurmountable, scoring the next 13 goals spanning the remainder of the first half and all of the third quarter without another Corsair tally.
UMass Dartmouth junior goalkeeper Matt Lafond (Bridgewater, Mass.) made 12 saves while in net for the first half, and classmate Scott Spangenberg (Dover, Mass.) turned aside five shots as the second half netminder. Senior Joey Christopher (Chelmsford, Mass.) was the Corsairs' leading field defender, gathering four ground balls and causing two turnovers.
On the opposite end, Keene State sophomore Mat Howe (Bedford, N.H.) and senior Alex Sharp (Winchester, Mass.) combined for 19 saves, with Howe earning the victory.
On the offensive end, Prozinski closes his UMass Dartmouth career atop the program record books. He is the Corsairs' all-time leading point scorer at 232, and also owns the most goals in program history with 180 on his four years. His senior season was his best, as he led the Corsairs with 57 goals, 22 assists and 79 points in 2016.
